Migration in China
[2] In general, rural-urban migrants are most excluded from local educational resources, citywide social welfare programs and many jobs because of their lack of hukou status.
The other factors influencing migration of people from rural provincial areas to large cities are more employment, education, and business opportunities, and higher standard of living.
Internal migration occurred as a result of the feudal system implemented by the Zhou rulers, which divided the territory into various states, each governed by its own noble or lord.
Nomadic threats from groups like the Di and Qiang during the Western Zhou period also led to internal movements as communities sought refuge from these incursions.
[10] Additionally, the establishment of trade routes, including the Silk Road, facilitated both internal and external migration, fostering cultural exchange and diversity.
[11] The migration patterns during the Zhou dynasty contributed to the cultural diversity within China and influenced regional customs and traditions that persisted throughout its long history.
By 1791 there had been so many Han Chinese settlers in the Front Gorlos Banner that the yasak had petitioned the Qing government to legalize the status of the peasants who had already settled there.
[36] Green Standard Army troops and Manchu bannermen were both part of the Qing military force who fought in Tibet in the war against the Dzungars.
[40] According to Sabine Dabringhaus, Green Standard Chinese soldiers numbering more than 1,300 were stationed by the Qing in Tibet to support the 3,000 strong Tibetan army.
[53]: 179 In 2000, the Chinese government began encouraging westward migration as part of an effort to increase development in China's western and minority regions with a reallocation of technological, human, and financial resources.
[61][62][63] In addition to inadequate social protection, the primary reason of the occupational segregation is the migrant workers' lack of skills and education, which keeps them in manual labor.
Thirdly, migration enabled the rural youth to become wage earners, consumers and city-dwellers which allowed them to become more globalized and mobile than they would have within their own respective villages.
Early in 1970, the Harris-Todaro model recognized that the persistent wage differential between urban and rural sectors is a main "pull" factor of migration in developing countries.
The role is "particularly prominent in situations in which migration involves large informational or psychic costs, such as when moving to a completely different culture or environment or if the destination labor market is hostile to immigrants".
[76] In general, the current system of circular migration of floating populations in China offers greater labor resources to coastal areas of high economic activity, but "although labor productivity in migrant activities is higher than it is in local nonfarm sectors, the current economic cost of migration in China is so high as to significantly limit such reallocation.
"[94] According to research conducted by Youqin Huang and published in the journal Environment and Planning A, "the constraints of human capital, the patriarchal culture and the Household Registration (Hukou).
"[96] Despite the disadvantages faced by female migrants in China, some research such as that conducted with data from Hubei Province demonstrates that "migration has enabled women to benefit from economic opportunities and provided them with a degree of freedom that was not possible at their places of origin.
[102] According to Lu and Zhang's research conducted in Beijing in 2001, migrant-sponsored schools usually did not have licenses, high education quality, and adequate facilities.
[103] In addition to the issue of access to education, migrant children have to return to their places of their hukou origin to take The National College Entrance Examination.
[104] Having both paternal grandparents able to provide child care support full-time is a critical resource for rural people; otherwise, childcare issues may constrain their labor migration prospects.
[108] A study conducted by several professors from Chinese University of Hong Kong reports that left-behind children are more likely to have a less healthy diet and lower rates of physical activity.
[80] Scholars from a wide variety of fields have recommended policy changes in order to deal with the social issues created by floating populations of migrant workers in China.
"Policy toward rural-urban migration in China has undergone a significant shift in the last decade, and improving the working and living conditions and access to health care of migrant workers in cities is now clearly on the agenda of national and local governments.
Nonetheless, migrants' mobility and their concentration in hazardous industries continue to make it difficult to reduce their exposure to environmental and occupational health risks and to ensure their access to affordable care.
"[117] In order to further improve the "living conditions and access to health care of migrant workers in cities," a number of scholars have recently provided policy recommendations.
Research conducted by a team from Beijing Normal University and the Institute of Development Studies has provided a number of specific recommendations for policy makers.
[121] In September 2003, a joint directive declared that urban governments and public schools should be responsible for migrant children's equal access to education.
In addition, migrant parents need to present a series of certificates showing that they have stable jobs and accommodation in cities in order to get their children admitted in public schools.
[124] Cai Fang, director of the Institute of Population Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stated that migrant workers do not have the same benefits as the urban residents.
Mr Cai estimates that more than 200 million migrant workers can't participate fully in the labor market due to the limitations from the Chinese hukou system.
