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Reform of the Household Registration System
户籍改革(hùjígǎigé)
Related buzz word:
Reform of the hukou system

"户", hu, means family; "籍", ji, refers to the place where a family is originally registered. "户籍", which shares the same meaning with "户口（hùkǒu）" is a fixed household registration system which requires people to remain in places where they were born. "改革" means reform. “户籍改革”is also called hukou system reform.

In the past, it was very difficult for rural residents to be accepted as urban residents, but now, things have changed. With land prices constantly rising, farmers are increasingly reluctant to be registered in urban areas despite local governments' various efforts to persuade, and even force them to give up their land.

The Chinese government claims that the purpose of establishing and maintaining such a system is to ensure a steady social order. But the core of the problem is that the hukou system is connected to many social benefits concerning education, healthcare and employment. For example, while urban residents are provided with easy access to better education, more healthcare resources and more job opportunities, farmers and their descendents will find it difficult to be covered by the social security system. The latter are always poorly educated and have few job opportunities other than working for private companies, which has given birth to China’s large number of migrant workers. 

Led by the Economic Observer, 13 Chinese media outlets jointly-published an editorial titled as "We Plead for you to Make a Right Choice" during this year's NPC and CPPCC session, urging the government to reform the Hukou system. However, there was no response from the government. Although a few Chinese cities, such as Chengdu and Chongqing, have gradually lowered their threshold for rural residents and people from other provinces to be registered as local urban residents and the central government is working hard to eliminate the differences between urban citizens and their rural counterparts, the reform of the hukou system still has a long way to go.

Related Links:

Central Government Investigates Chengdu\'s Hukou Reform

Chongqing Universities Pressure Students to Change their Hukou