Temporary Resident ... Forever(2)

The temporary residence certificate is a byproduct of the hukou system, says Dang Guoying, head of Rural Development Institute under Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

In 1958, the government passed Regulations on Household Registration to control population mobility. Except for migration resulting from employment, education or work transfer, citizens had no right to choose where to live.

Since then, due to economic development and the disparity in social welfare benefits between rural and urban areas, more people have begun moving to the cities. The temporary residence certificate system was introduced in hopes of keeping the urban population under control. The same is true of the "shelter system" designed for homeless migrants in urban areas.

In March 2003, university graduate Sun Zhigang was mistakenly taken into a shelter because he failed to carry his temporary residence certificate with him and was beaten to death in custody. The tragedy ended China's shelter system and led to new guidelines on assistance to the homeless.

While voicing his doubts over the effectiveness of current policies in controlling migration, Dang also disapproves of the rush to urban areas, saying, "(the immigrants have) a low quality of living, and more slums are emerging."

It is wishful thinking that the hukou system can be abolished overnight, says Dang, adding the key is to reform the system by allowing those who own a house or have a stable job to transfer their household registry account to where they actually live.

There is a lack of in-depth study over the cost-efficiency and welfare losses resulted from the hukou system. Li, for instance, has postponed his overseas travel plan for two years because of the tediousness to apply for passport back in where his hukou belongs.

"When I go back there on a holiday, the police station is on holiday too. When they get to work, I also have to go back and work. I finally took care of it when I quit my job and made a purposeful trip home," Li recalls.

Despite all this, Li is optimistic over the future. He believes the system will be amended sooner or later, as it is inhuman and an obstacle to social development. The only question is when the changes will come.

As for now, he has no choice but to live "temporarily" in his own house.

Translated by Zuo Maohong
From Cover, issue no. 351, January 21^st, 2008
Original article: [Chinese]