State Council Newspaper Criticizes Lack of Migrant Representation in Shanghai LPC

October 4, 2006

The China Economic Times, a State Council-sponsored publication, criticized a decision by the Shanghai local people's congress (LPC) to deny two migrant observers to an LPC session full status as representatives, according to a January 17 editorial reprinted on the People's Daily Web site. The editorial asserted that the decision provided insufficient representation for the interests of Shanghai's migrant population. On January 15, the Shanghai LPC allowed for the first time two migrant workers from Jiangsu to attend a session of the Shanghai LPC as observers. Whether the LPC intends that these two migrant workers serve as permanent observers is unclear.

The China Economic Times, a State Council-sponsored publication, criticized a decision by the Shanghai local people's congress (LPC) to deny two migrant observers to an LPC session full status as representatives, according to a January 17 editorial reprinted on the People's Daily Web site. The editorial asserted that the decision provided insufficient representation for the interests of Shanghai's migrant population. On January 15, the Shanghai LPC allowed for the first time two migrant workers from Jiangsu to attend a session of the Shanghai LPC as observers. Whether the LPC intends that these two migrant workers serve as permanent observers is unclear.

The editorial points out that the Shanghai LPC did not allow the two migrants to serve as full representatives of migrant interests. It notes that none of the 1,000 LPC delegates attending the session represented Shanghai's 4 million migrant workers. The editorial notes that the household registration (hukou) system imposes barriers that exclude many migrants from standing for election, including those who have resided in Shanghai for many years. The editorial calls on Shanghai authorities to allow migrants to sit as actual representatives in the Shanghai LPC. It also emphasizes the need for greater political participation by migrants.

China's household registration system limits representation of migrants in LPCs. By law, rural LPC deputies represent four times as many constituents as their urban counterparts, leaving migrant and rural interests underrepresented. In addition, the right to vote is commonly linked to hukou registration. Migrants lacking local urban hukou are often required to vote in their place of hukou registration, although some localities have adopted reforms to allow migrants to vote where they actually reside. For more information on China’s household registration system, see the Commission's recent topic paper on the subject, the Freedom of Residence section of the Commission's 2005 Annual Report, the corresponding section of the Commission's 2004 Annual Report, and the Commission's roundtable on hukou reform.