Party Scholars, Government Officials Discuss Reform Of Household Registration System

Party scholars and government officials publicly raised the subject of reform of the Chinese hukou (household registration) system following the conclusion of the Communist Party plenary session on October 11. Restrictions linked to hukou identification often prevent rural migrants from obtaining social services in Chinese cities on an equal basis with other residents, as noted in a recent Commission topic paper. Economists from the Central Party School criticized the dual social structure created by existing hukou restrictions in a roundtable discussion with the 21st Century Business Herald published on October 17. The director of the strategic planning arm of the State Owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission recommended reform of the social benefits attached to hukou identification as a means to address distortions in the urban property market, according to an October 20 Southern Weekend article.

National leaders highlighted the need to address the growing rich-poor divide in China in the Party plenary session, notes an October 10 Xinhua article. Urbanization and migrant issues appear integral to these goals. The Party's 11th Five-Year Program Proposal, released on October 19, includes "healthy urbanization," improvements to the hukou system, and the development of related social service structures among the goals to be pursued between 2006 and 2010. Internal Party study conferences during the plenary session included lectures by two experts on Chinese and international urbanization processes, according to a 21st Century Business Herald article published on October 19.