China proposed changes Friday to its family registration system, calling on more cities to lift restrictions that have affected migrant workers for decades, state media reported.
The permanent residence system, or “hukou”, was first introduced in the 1950s to regulate population movement and classifies Chinese as either “urban” or “rural”.
Most Chinese citizens can only benefit from some public services, including health insurance and education, where they are registered – generally in their country of birth – despite a large population of migrant workers in most major cities.
On Friday, China’s cabinet, the State Council, issued guidelines calling on cities to give citizens “fair” access to services regardless of their residency status, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
The document “very much reflects the spirit of the Fifteenth Five-Year Plan”, China’s recently released economic and social plan for the next five years, said Ying Zhang of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
“So this is not surprising, although it is encouraging to see these ideas emerge at this particular time.”
The guidelines called for the “complete elimination” of family registration restrictions on migrant participation in employee social security.
Their access to “basic medical security” in their country of residence should be strengthened, the statement added.
The guidelines also proposed improving “educational guarantees” for migrant children, including increasing the percentage of them attending public schools during the compulsory education phase.
“Promoting equal access to basic public services for unregistered permanent residents and registered residents is conducive to meeting people’s growing needs for a better life and unleashing the potential of domestic demand,” the State Council said.
Experts said smaller cities in China have already implemented similar policies as part of their efforts to attract more people.
“The key question to consider is the extent to which China’s mega-cities such as Beijing and Shanghai will adopt such measures,” EIU’s Zhang said.
