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Beijing migrants in limbo despite new hukou reform

BEIJING — Mr Zhang Tianpan and his wife thought earlier this month that Beijing might finally solve a problem that has vexed them for six years — a way to grant them residency in the capital, which would open up public services, like public schooling for their child.

People at a job fair in China. Many migrants with low skills stand little chance of settling in the large cities, which are curbing their populations to tackle congestion, pollution and limited resources. Photo: Reuters

People at a job fair in China. Many migrants with low skills stand little chance of settling in the large cities, which are curbing their populations to tackle congestion, pollution and limited resources. Photo: Reuters

BEIJING — Mr Zhang Tianpan and his wife thought earlier this month that Beijing might finally solve a problem that has vexed them for six years — a way to grant them residency in the capital, which would open up public services, like public schooling for their child.

Mr Zhang, 32 and a native of Fujian province, has been working as a senior journalist in Beijing for six years. His wife, 34 and from Hebei, is co-owner of an art gallery here.

But despite living and working in Beijing, both have been regarded as migrant workers, unable to register as Beijing residents or have a Beijing hukou, without which they are denied access to many public services.

Then, on Aug 11, the city issued a new policy saying some residents, like the Zhangs, can apply for a Beijing hukou along with other eight million plus migrant workers via a points system similar to those used in many developed countries for screening skilled immigrants.

But Mr Zhang has seen a flaw.

“The authorities that came up with the system do not say how many points applicants need to qualify,” Mr Zhang said. “It’s like you dangle a carrot in front of a donkey; it can see it, but it might never get it.”

He says they will stick to their plan to leave the country as soon as possible to escape what they say is the humiliation migrant workers endure in China.

The Zhangs are not the only ones likely to be disappointed, especially as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou are curbing their populations to tackle congestion, pollution and limited resources.

Academics said that government measures to control population could be counterproductive as it will undermine the vigour of a city and its economy by harming its diversity and the supply of its labour force.

Beijing said last year it planned to cap the city’s population, including migrant workers staying in the city for at least six months, from 21.7 million at the end of 2015 to 23 million at the end of 2020 even it failed similar targets in the past.

Many migrants with low skills stand little chance of settling in the large cities. They have already felt the squeeze from government-led curbs on certain industries such as wholesaling and retailing, even if they have worked and lived in the capital for years.

Under the points system, which will take effect at the beginning of next year, applicants are required to show they have medical insurance and pension plans in Beijing for at least seven years in a row, the toughest among all the cities that have introduced such a system.

This requirement alone will exclude many professionals who relocated in Beijing in recent years, as well as the self-employed, who do not necessarily have a consistent social security plan.

Although policy-makers dropped the discriminatory requirement for applicants to be no older than 45 years old, but those who are 45 and younger get an additional 20 points.

Applicants can earn points for employment status, education and home ownership. For example, applicants gain 15 points for a bachelor’s degree, 26 points for a master’s degree and 37 points for a doctorate.

However, Beijing has decided to break ranks with Shanghai and Guangzhou by not setting a minimum number of points to qualify.

Instead, the city government said the threshold is adjustable according to the government’s target to control population each year. City authorities said it would look to Shanghai and Guangzhou for reference to decide an annual quota. Both Shanghai and Guangzhou have set a minimum score for hukou applications. But points are not enough. The cities also seem to have a more stringent quota system.

Some 300,000 migrant workers in Shanghai had met the minimum requirement of 120 points to qualify for a local hukou by the end of last year, Mr Yang Xiong, the city’s mayor told media earlier this year. However only 26,000 were granted a Shanghai hukou, he said.

The authorities in Guangzhou did not say how many people met their requirement of 60 points, but only 3,000 migrant workers were able to obtain a Guangzhou hukou between 2011 and 2014. Apparently in response to public pressure, the city government raised the quota to 5,000 in 2015, but still only a fraction of the number of people likely to have qualified.

Professor of economics and managemet Lu Ming of Shanghai Jiaotong University said that the points system is meaningless if the authorities keep a tight quota at the same time.

“If applicants who score enough points could not get a hukou, why do we need a point system at all?” he said. “Why don’t they just refer to it as a quota system?” CAIXIN ONLINE

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