Guangzhou, another megacity (more than 10 million residents) has their share of migrant abuse. In 2008, once rural migrants entered the city, they were met with "informlisation", "relationships that are not regulated contractually, or legitimised by legal frameworks, but instead are based in large part on personal relations or social networks". Bordering on "illegals" with this issue, migrants are also asked to produce an irrational amount of papers including residence permits, work permits, employment registrations, and family planning certificates. Within these three are necessary in order to avoid deportation, the "three-without population"(sanwurenyuan), a valid ID, housing, and regular income. If a migrant were to lack these three essentials, he would be taken in to be deported (shourong qiansong zhidu), a measure not only used for "getting rid" of migrants, but also as a way for authorities to make money as they hold migrants for "ransom".
In 2003, Sun Zhigang, died from this practice as he was unprepared for paper checks and was thrown in jail for this crime. As this outraged the population, the Chinese government has since rescinded this practice. The Chinese governments view of these migrants as an "economic" force instead of actual citizens with civil rights has led to the disproportionate treatment of urban and rural residents. Now, the government, has to some extent tried to cooperate with migrant families due to realizing this. In 2006 residence statuses were starting to be legalized after numerous appeals to the government, resulting in the "Migrant Worker Problem Meeting", resulting in the practice of metting out easier sentences toward those without rural Hukous.
Gransow, Bettina. "Slum Formation or Urban Innovation? – Migrant Communities and Social Change in Chinese Megacities." Freie Universität Berlin and Sun Yat-sen University Guangzhou, P.R. China. Print.
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