Changing Landscapes - China's Moving Population by Jonathan Hursh

Changing Landscapes Trends and Their Eﬀect on Society Today China’s Moving Population BEIJING ⏐ SHANGHAI

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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The Global Context How are we a part of a larger phenomenon?

Introduction Compassion for Migrant Children

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One in six people worldwide live in slum dwellings.

By 2020 it will be one in three.

Source: UN-‐HABITAT

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The Global Context of the Migrant Slum Issue The Third World cities and their slums grew quickly in the second half of the twentieth century.

Source: Planet of Slums, page 50-‐51

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The Global Context of the Migrant Slum Issue Distribution of slum dwellers by region Developed

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countries 5%

Sub-Saharan Africa 18%

Latin-America & Carribean 15 %

Asia 60%

Source: Slum dwellers estimates country level, Gora Mboup, Senior Demographic and Health Expert, GUO

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China’s cities are developing at an unprecedented rate Between 2000 and 2030, the urban areas of the developing countries will absorb 95 percent of world’s population growth. Excessive levels of urbanization in relation to the economic growth have resulted in high levels of urban poverty and rapid expansion of unplanned urban settlements and slums, which are characterized by a lack of basic infrastructure and services, overcrowding and substandard housing conditions. Slums have wide adverse impacts on people and the society. UN-‐HABITAT

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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The China Context What is China’s story?

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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Population Shift: From Rural to Urban 100% 75%

74%

64%

50% 25% 0%

50% 26% 1990

36%

2000

Rural

50%

2015

Urban

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

million migrant children in China

250

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million migrants

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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Overview

Massive migration in China from the poor countryside to the burgeoning cities is unprecedented in human history

More migrants are coming every day to seek a better life for their children

China’s thriving economy is built on the backs of migrant workers

Beijing is home to 5 million migrant workers and 500,000 migrant children Xinhua, 2007; Global Envision, 2007

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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Overview While China’s development is oﬀering tremendous opportunities to those from its countryside, it also presents new challenges and uncertainties to those who choose to take the risk of moving their families to the urban centers. Migration to cities could prove to be a great blessing or a great threat to China’s surge towards a harmonious society.

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5 Issues... Through the Lives of 5 Migrants

65% of migrant teachers have never taught before which leads to poor quality of education. Most migrant children attend unlicensed private schools because they can’t access public schools.

65%

ISSUE

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EDUCATION

Name Unknown, Shanghai

Not only do internal migrants face greater occupational hazards, but more than 80 percent lack health insurance.

80%

ISSUE

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HEALTH

Zhao Chun, Beijing

In 2009, one in five migrant workers could not find work or had been laid off, a situation which has the potential to lead to great social unrest.

1 in 5

ISSUE

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EMPLOYMENT

Zai Yang, Beijing

In Shanghai, migrant workers occupy an average of less than seven square meters per person and, in extreme cases, only two square meters.

7 m

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ISSUE

HOUSING

Jin Rei, Beijing

In a recent survey, only 63 percent of migrant children believed they were a useful person and only about 70 percent of migrant children felt happy about their lives.

63%

ISSUE

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SOCIAL EXCLUSION

Unknown Name, Beijing

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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Overview

These combined factors are creating a situation which is unsustainable in the long run and need to be addressed by the government, the public, and non-‐governmental organizations if there is to be a China in which basic rights are equally extended to each of its citizens.

billion

+ 500,000,000 China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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Half a billion more from the countryside seen going urban in the next 30 years in China. There are already 250 million migrants in the cities.

The rapidly converging forces of soon-‐to-‐be a half billion migrants, 58 million left-‐behind children, the one child policy, and competition for resources is creating an environment that is exciting but fraught with challenges that call for bold, consistent, and eﬀective responses.

Source: http://china.globaltimes.cn/society/2010-‐02/507860.html

15%

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

By 2030,

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of the world’s

population will have moved from the countryside to the urban areas and most of this within the borders of China

Source: McKinsey

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China’s Historical Context 1949

Initially the 1949 Chinese Revolution opened city gates to returning refugees and job-‐hungry peasant ex-‐soldiers. The result was an uncontrolled inundation of the cities: some 14 million people arrived in just four years.

1953

Finally, in 1953 the new regime dammed the rural ﬂood with stringent controls over internal migration. Maoism simultaneously privileged the urban proletariat -‐ beneﬁciaries of the iron rice bowl and cradle-‐to-‐grave welfare -‐ and tightly constrained urban population growth through the adoption of a household registration system (hukou) that tied social citizenship to sedentary membership in a work unit. Most urban shantytowns were abolished by 1960.

1960s

In the early 1960s, huge numbers of unregistered urban immigrants -‐ some estimates are as high as 50 million -‐ were deported back to their villages.

1980s

The Chinese state alone in the developing world during the 1980s and 1990s managed to construct vast quantities of decent mass housing, called the “unsung revolution”. Even so, it fell far short of the needs of tens of millions of peasants moving to the cities.

Source: Planet of Slums, page 53, 54, 62

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Overview

three Ds

Because they ﬁll the existing labor gaps, migrant workers often ﬁnd jobs referred to as the “three Ds” jobs: dirty, dangerous, or degrading

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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Overview

Inevitably, their children are the ones who pay the highest price. With no support network in the new city and parents working long hours every day, they are at risk of becoming the “forgotten” children of China. As a result of China’s unique registration system (hukou), which ties each citizen to their place of birth, these children often end up on the fringes of society.

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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The China Context What is China’s story?

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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Incentives to Migrate

Better Employment Higher Wages (a large Opportunities (increased diﬀerential in living agricultural productivity led standards) to labor surplus in the country side) Increased Mobility in the 1980s

The future of their children

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Obstacles to Integration • The hukou system still ties migrant workers to their original rural residence and excludes them from health care, education, and social security, among other social services in the cities; think of it as a social security card that can only be used in your birthplace

• Limited political participation and collective action • Weak legal protection • Poor access to housing • Largely excluded from accessing public education • Social discrimination and cultural exclusion – majority of urban dwellers consider migrants to be socially and culturally inferior (“meiyou wenhua”)

• The cheap labor of the migrant workers is welcomed, but their accompanying presence is not • Little resources to live as an equal to the urban dwellers

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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Inﬂux of Migrants Continues • Despite the de facto second-‐tier citizenship, migrant workers continue to ﬂow into the cities in search of better economic opportunities . Despite the low quality of the working conditions, they are often able to send much more money home than if they had remained to work their lands.

• Interestingly enough, we have found that there are several social class distinctions even within the migrant community itself. Those who are migrant entrepreneurs feel little in common with small traders, migrant wage workers, and those at the bottom who collect the trash and sweep the streets. (Li Zhang, 2001) This lends to the building of a societal framework even within these ad-‐ hoc communities.

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The Service Sector • Has been many years ago that the majority migrant was a construction or factory worker. The majority migrant now works in the service industry.

• The service industry has quickly grown out of reaction to the quickly burgeoning middle class in China, which needs more mechanics for their more cars, more ayis to clean their homes, more waitresses to serve them during their increased restaurant visits.

• For this reason, we don’t see migration slowing, even if the manufacturing and construction sectors decrease in coming years.

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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Government/Policy Landscape • Most laws relating to migrants are “grey laws” • Public Security Bureau is appointed as lead agency on migrants; the “criminal” mentality • 1996 and 2006 education reforms • The education laws have had limited eﬀect on urban governments but did cause an increase of children leaving their parents after elementary or middle school to return to their hometowns for “free” enrollment

• Opened up legal center in 2005 to assist migrant construction workers to obtain non-‐paid wages; halved the amount of non-‐paid wages within one year

• Much lip service but change can’t be too far behind if “harmonious society” to be held together • Government generally moving in the right direction

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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A Few Key Trends • Migrants stabilizing in their cities • Future migration likely to largely take place in tier 2-‐4 cities • Increase of migrants in the service industry rather than the manufacturing industry (due to burgeoning middle class)

• Government toying with education reforms in Shanghai (and toying a wee bit with hukou reform as well)

• Strong entrepreneurial spirit still thriving

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The Next 10 Years? • China government simply attempting to quietly learn how to manage; allowing NGOs to play a role, though on a leash

• China is increasingly moving in the direction of the rule of law • NGOs playing an increasingly important role, particularly Chinese NGOs; a genuine shift in government stance on registration of social entities, either local or foreign (kept oﬀ balance) may actually happen within 2 years

• Chinese media is an increasingly powerful force (ex: crackdown of summer 2006) • Believe we will see migrants “gently” organizing themselves in “soft” groups to represent their interests

• Education reform will likely happen (could be catch 22 for govt) • Economic patterns show that people ﬂow to emerging markets and naturally become a part of the growth themselves; might be painful initially but China should not be afraid

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The Next 10 Years? • The PSB recently re-‐conﬁrmed to oversee migrants registration for next years to come so no big change here

• We believe leverage points will come in public opinion (informed by a more direct media), the ability of migrants to form informal groups, and three-‐way collaborative initiatives between the nonproﬁt, business, and government sectors which will serve to inform and catalyze stronger government programs

• We believe we will see increasingly assertive and eﬀective government initiatives on behalf of the migrants

• Overall trend still uncertain, but moving in a positive direction • Shifts are in the migrant’s favor • Hopefully in 10 years, there will be no need for us to meet together about this particular issue:) • What will this take?

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Our vision will not be fully realized in this generation but hopefully, we can give this generation a foothold in society so that their children can be born into a world where they don’t have to question whether they are second-‐class citizens but are able to access the best Chinese society has to oﬀer.

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Resources Reach out for more

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Living in the Shadows: China's Internal Migrants

Source: View on www.mrn-‐china.org

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China Source White Paper on Migrants

Source: ChinaSource

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010

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Useful Websites Compassion for Migrant Children www.cmc-‐china.org

December 18 Website www.dec18.org

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Migrant Resource Network Website www.mrn-‐china.org

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A Response Where to now?

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So knowing this, do we have any responsibility? If so, what could we do?

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Possible Responses

Community Centers

The Arts

Clean Water

Conﬁdence Building

Vocational Training

Serving Sex Workers

After School Programs

Etc

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Compassion for Migrant Children Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC) strategically builds community centers in the heart of migrant neighborhoods and provides services to over 2,800 migrant children and their family each week through an assets-‐based approach. A comprehensive system of integrated service include education (after school programs, teacher training), life-‐ vocational skills training, personal development, and health. CMC is a registered nonproﬁt organization.

we believe in a future and a hope for every migrant child

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CMC Community Centers

China’s Migrants Overview and Trends 2010 One Possible Solution: Shipping Container Community Centers

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'5$

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The Problems Being Addressed In eﬀorts to address these key issues and challenges faced by migrant children and communities, Compassion for Migrant Children (CMC) conducts programs at our community centers that focus on education, life and vocational skills training, and personal development. In 2010, CMC looks forward to expanding our personal development initiatives and health education workshops. CMC’s core programs (After School Program, Teacher Training, and Life-‐ Vocational Skills Training) address problems of low self-‐esteem, substandard education, and gaps that exist in the educational infrastructure of migrant schools. Our increasing focus on personal development will address issues of low self-‐esteem and provide parenting workshops while our upcoming health initiatives will concentrate on health awareness and education. In addition, the overall structure of CMC’s community centers provide a safe and welcoming place for migrants and their families, free from the stigma and marginalization they often otherwise face in society. In the midst of this fractured and disenfranchised section of society, our centers oﬀer a sense of stability, ownership, and community. The centers have become platforms of cohesion, collaboration, and creativity as migrant children, parents, and teachers come together to move towards places of greater hope.

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Economic Trends Chris Turner

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The Economy

•China and the WTO trends -‐ now ten years in •The RMB exchange rate revaluation (which now happened) •The hallowed 8% of GDP each year and how this ensures "stability”

•Affects on labor and trends in salaries for migrant workers -‐ displacement (again) and replacement flows of migrants because of economic financial flows

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Q & A