End of zanzhuzheng good for equality
- Source: Global Times
- [06:23 January 08 2010]
- Comments
By Wu Meng
My mother, a woman in her late 40s, has been talking to me about my future. Being an educated professional, she doesn't interfere with my personal choices. Still, she said it would be best if my future husband hails from Beijing, so that we don't have to worry about my child's school admission in Beijing.
Recently, there have been reports about possible changes in Beijing's residence policy.
According to Beijing Youth Daily, the city is working on a project to gradually eliminate the zanzhuzheng (temporary residence permit). In 2010, people from outside of Beijing will not have to apply for the little red book that excludes them from the city and which will end to 24 years of discrimination that comes with it.
For a long time, people living in Beijing without a hukou (permanent residency) were required to apply for a zanzhuzheng, which distinctly separated Beijingers from outsiders. Although not everyone coming from other places bothers to register as a temporary resident, the policy is controversial and criticized as a violation of equality.
A zanzhuzheng holder hardly enjoys the same rights as a hukou holder. For instance, if neither of the parents have a Beijing hukou, the child cannot get admission in most of the primary and middle schools.
Free medical care and social insurance is also denied to them. Without the permit, it is hard for people to buy cars in the cities where they live.
When people leave their hometown to earn a living in another city, they are instantly labeled waidiren (outsiders). The discrimination may not be so obvious in the case of so-called white-collar employees, but is all too evident when it comes to migrant workers. They devote their youth and life to the development of big cities and are probably the biggest contributors to a modern lifestyle that a lot of urbanites take for granted.
The certificate needs to be done away with as a prerequisite for a harmonious society.
The new system called juzhuzheng (residence card), which applies to everyone including native Beijingers, will help outsiders blend into the big cities they live in and provide them with more social security rights. People can feel at home only in a city where they don't have to worry about their identity.
The elimination of the old zanzhuzheng system is the first step to let all citizens, whether from the city or not, enjoy equal rights and treatment.
It is not a matter of identity or recognition, but an assurance of equality.
