New Domicile Law Proposed

Wu Minghui, a NPC deputy of Jiangxi Province submitted earlier his proposal for a new domicile law to be enacted in China as soon as possible.

Wu said the current domicile control system is one that had been enacted back in the days of planned economy with controlled procurement and distribution by the state under which a rural population was strictly separated from the urban. Since China's reform and opening there has been brought about a large influx of rural labor forces and concurrently a new group of quasi-urban jobbers going in for labor-intensive production and a multitude of other productive and service lines as of the tertiary industry in cities. But difficulties have been found as in their right of residence and offspring's education and some have to live as residents with " no residential right".

So Wu suggests a new domicile law to be enacted as follows:

1. Every Chinese has the right and freedom to migrate or register at a new place;

2. One has the right to register and live in a new place since he has fixed residence, stable job, kith and kin, guardian or supporter in the place;

3. Every one has the rights of residence, renting or purchasing a dwelling of his own, going into employment, schooling, marriage, child bearing, attending public socio-politico activities and rest;

4. "Fed seal", "blue seal" and the like registers will have to be eliminated;

5. A new domicile law to be enacted must be instrumental to a transfer of rural surplus labor force, developing agriculture, a raise of farm production, urbanization construction, building medium- and small-sized cities and towns, erasing gaps between town and country, and dampening the heat for hunting jobs in cities.

(People’s Daily 03/12/2001)