And Ai Yang joins us now in the studio for more on this. Good evening.
Wang: How was this survey conducted and what other issues has it uncovered?
Ai: The results of the survey have just been released, by Tsinghua University’s "China Data Center", with around 12,000 people taking part. And interestingly, some of the figures differ from official statistics. One example is China’s actual rate of urbanization. The government says the rate rose from 22 to 53 percent in just two decades. While that’s correct, in the sense that more than half of the population is now living and working in cities, the Tsinghua report shows that only half of the people who moved to cities in that time have gained a hukou, or household registration. So China’s hukou system is now lagging far behind the mobility of the modern population. As we know, "Hukou-less" migrants don’t get equal social welfare, but an equally fundamental issue is that the government makes big decisions on allocating resources and urban planning, based on hukou information. So, in a word, the current system is not keeping pace with China’s economic development, and authorities are not seeing the real picture.
Wang: Populations seem to have exploded in bigger cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, at the forefront of this economic development. Just how serious is this problem right now and what solutions are being put forward?
Ai: Let’s look at Beijing. Last year there were 20 million permanent residents living in the capital, up 25 percent from just 7 years ago. But Beijing’s urban planners have been making decisions based on a figure of just 18 million, until at least 2020. There are even more permanent residents in Shanghai, some 23 million last year while permanent residents in Shenzhen and Guangzhou reached 10 million and 12 million respectively. But these places do enjoy some of the best resources in the country. For example, Beijing is home to some of the highest nationally ranked universities, as well as some of the best hospitals and doctors. That’s why people try so hard to live here even without a hukou. In comparison, second, third or even fourth tier cities seem a less attractive option, despite it being easier to obtain a hukou -- there are just fewer opportunities to thrive in those places. Many experts now say the key to solving these problems is to help smaller cities develop and become more attractive to make the urbanization more even and more balanced.
