Refroming the hu kou system completely and totally

Comments on Ran Tao “Achieving real progress in China’s hukou reform”, 8/02/2010, http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2010/02/08/achieving-real-progress-in-chinas-hukou-reform/comment-page-1/#comment-96245

Talking about real reforms of the hu kou system, one must realise that it is the constraints of other social security and government services systems that will determine the speed of the real reforms.

While the problems presented for migrant workers, mostly referring to those from rural areas, are the talking point, real reforms of the system should be based on the rights of people to choose the locations to live, work, study and so on, and the related underlying efficiency issues.

It is equally applicable to any person in China, except certain people who have the real privilege to choose for their own under the current system. There are so many other people who are affected by the current system negatively, although they are relatively marginalised and are not so obvious as the migrant workers.

If objective of the reforms is not properly understood, they are unlikely to be delivered in the most efficient and effective ways. Or it runs the risk of being half done.