CRI听力:Hukou Reforms to Help 100 Mln Chinese

A new circular has been issued by the State Council, China's cabinet, calling for changes in the household registration system.

The new plan is to help about 100 million people without urban residency to settle in towns and cities in the next 6-years.

CRI's Cao Yuwei has more.

The document sets different approaches regarding the reform on the hukou system according to the size of cities.
 
It says the government will remove the limits on hukou registration in townships and small cities.

In medium-sized cities, the restriction will be relaxed, while in megacities, like Beijing or Shanghai, certain qualifications will be set for people who apply for an urban hukou there.

Huang Ming, vice public security minister says China plans to help about 100 million people without urban residency to settle in towns and cities by 2020.

"So that farmers who live and work in urban areas, and other regular residents who have not got household registration in the cities they live, are able to gradually enjoy the same public services as legal residents."

According to the document, people wishing to settle in megacities have to qualify through a "points system" based on their seniority in employment, their accommodation and social security.

Currently, there are about 50 percent of rural migrants are living in smaller cities.

And with urbanization proceeding, the central government is trying to encourage more rural migrants to choose these medium and small-sized cities, instead of the big metropolises.

To achieve that goal, the Secretary General of the national development and reform commission Li Pumin says the first step is to improve local industrial development and social infrastructure.

"Firstly the transportation in small and medium sized cities should be improved. This is the basis. Only when the traffic conditions are improved, the industries will develop and people will gather. Then the small and medium sized cities can be more attractive."

He adds that the railway will cover cities with more than 200-thousand people, and high speed railway should cover those with over 500-thousand.

And to those who plan to move into cities, the document also supports farmers to retain their legal rights regarding their farmlands.

By doing so it allows leeway for farmers if they want to go back to a rural life.

For CRI, I'm Cao Yuwei.

For more on the plans for hukou reform, Cao Yuwei also spoke with Wang Qing, a professor from the University of Warwick in England.