Dear MEL Topic Readers,
Why millions of Chinese are
becoming official
There are 13 million unregistered
citizens in China. That represents approximately 1% of the total population of
the country. Sounds quite significant as there are over 60 countries and
dependent territories whose population is fewer. But what does registered
citizen mean?
To be granted an official
citizenship status and benefits, a household registration document, called huko, is needed in China. But those who
were born after the first child were often not registered because of the decades-old
one-child policy. They have not been able to get education, medical services,
insurance and social security, buy a train ticket or stay in a hotel that
require ID and registration numbers.
Now all of a sudden, the
government (or the party) decided to grant all these unregistered citizens official
status. Will that be an increase of population and boost to the economy?
One question still remains. Where
will those unregistered people be registered? Will that be the place they live
in and make their living now or another place where their parents are
registered? That could make a day and night difference to them.
Enjoy reading and learning this
sudden change in China’s social policy.
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