Migrant workers deserve equal rights

Household registration system reform will be a crucial task for the Chinese central government this year at the work conference for political and legislative affairs. China will accelerate the migrant workers' transformation to citizens, says an article of 21st Century Business Herald. Excerpts:

Chinese cities have experienced a Great Leap-Forward style of development in recent years. More than 200 million farmers work in the cities as migrant workers. But they do not have household registration permits in the cities where they have worked and lived for many years. They cannot enjoy equal treatment with their city counterparts in the fields of medical services, education and social security.

Statistics show that 64 percent of migrant workers in Beijing, Guangdong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Sichuan provinces think society is unfair to them, and most of the younger generation of migrant workers do not return to their hometowns. If the cities refuse them, the results will be disastrous.

Local governments are usually the main opponents of granting migrant workers' equal rights because of their limited financial resources. If the Chinese central government really intends to carry out this meaningful reform, it should at least reveal a reform plan on how it will distribute financial resources between local governments and itself.

Local governments have already exhausted their ability to make money in the land market to satisfy the increasing demands of local citizens. As for the newcomers, central authorities must allocate more funds to local governments, the main public service providers.

The newcomers are not only financial burdens and will contribute to society in the long run. China is transforming its economic growth model from export-driven to consumption-driven, and these new citizens will become consumers with robust demands if the authorities can create an environment that is favorable to their changing role in society.