VZCZCXRO1802
RR RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHCN #0292/01 3480954
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140954Z DEC 07
FM AMCONSUL CHENGDU
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2696
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 3263

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CHENGDU 000292 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP/CM AND EB 
NSC FOR CHRISTINA COLLINS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON ELAB PGOV SOCI CH
SUBJECT: HUKOU REFORM IN YUNNAN: BIG TALK, LITTLE ACTION 
 
REF: CHENGDU 129 
 
CHENGDU 00000292  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Southwest China's Yunnan Province recently 
announced it would soon abolish the distinction between urban 
and rural household registrations (hukou), which if true might 
lead to dramatic changes in the province's migration patterns. 
However, financial requirements (announced with far less 
fanfare) put such changed status out of reach of all but the 
richest of rural migrants.  Meanwhile, Yunnan's rather unique 
pattern of rural-urban migration continues: despite high rates 
of rural poverty, cultural influences keep many on the land, 
especially in minority areas, and discontent appears to be 
relatively low.  End summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
A DRAMATIC ANNOUNCEMENT 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Reports in late October indicated that Yunnan would 
move quickly to "abolish" the distinction between rural and 
urban hukous. See for example 
http://wwww.gokunming.com/en/blog/item.php?bl og_id=414 (English) 
and http://hi.people.com.cn/2007/10/25/340925.htm l (Chinese). 
In one press statement, Yunnan Public Security Deputy Director 
Yan Shangzhi claimed that Yunnan's hukou reform was the "most 
thorough" of all of the 13 provinces and municipalities in China 
engaged in hukou reform. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Congenoff recently traveled to Yunnan's provincial 
capital of Kunming to meet with academics and Public Security 
Bureau (PSB) officials on the hukou reform issue. 
Unfortunately, the Yunnan PSB cancelled Congenoff's meeting 
after arrival in Kunming, calling it "inconvenient."  Congenoff 
was nevertheless able to meet with academics at the Yunnan 
Academy of Social Sciences (YASS) and to speak with rural 
migrants in Kunming. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
BUT LITTLE CHANGE EXPECTED 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4. (SBU) Asked about the implications of the reforms, YASS 
Sociological Research Institute Director Mr. Qiao Hengrui was 
quick to dispel expectations of dramatic change.  Although he 
confirmed that under the new regulations a change to an urban 
hukou was theoretically possible, he added the important caveat 
that applicants must satisfy two conditions.  First, they must 
prove that they own a residence in an urban area.  Second, they 
must furnish proof of "adequate and stable" income, an undefined 
standard.  Qiao said that "there was no easy way" for any 
migrant to meet these requirements, especially when the vast 
majority of rural migrants were poorly educated, and working in 
menial jobs.  He strongly disagreed with the statement that 
Yunnan's changes were the "most thorough" of all areas engaged 
in hukou reform. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Qiao expressed the opinion that, with such high 
standards, the new regulations would be of little or no help in 
addressing problems associated with the province's urban-rural 
divide: differences in job opportunities, social benefits, 
health care, and education.  He said that it would not be 
possible to implement "real" hukou reform until these 
differences were addressed through other means, such as by 
raising the level of rural economic development and the quality 
of rural social services. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Asked about the differences in rural migration patterns 
between Yunnan and other provinces, Qiao and YASS Rural 
Development Institute Director Mr. Zhang Yaqiao agreed that 
Yunnan's farmers were much less likely to leave the countryside 
than farmers in other areas of China.  One big reason, they 
said, was cultural: a deep attachment among Yunnan's farmers to 
their hometowns and farms, however poor.  Another reason was 
Yunnan's balmy climate, which they claimed made it hard for 
local farmers to adjust to life elsewhere.  And a third reason 
was the high proportion of minorities in Yunnan, who they said 
would have an especially difficult time adjusting to life in 
Han-dominated cities.  (Note: According to provincial web sites, 
about six million of Yunnan's total population of roughly 45 
million are migrants, or about 13 percent, a figure 
significantly lower than Sichuan's figure of about 21 percent. 
According to central government statistics, around 25 percent of 
Yunnan's population lives below the local poverty line of 958 
RMB (USD 128) in annual income.  End note.)  Zhang claimed that 
only Shanxi Province saw a lower migration figure than Yunnan. 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
EXPECTATIONS ON THE STREET: LOW 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
CHENGDU 00000292  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) In lieu of the cancelled PSB meeting, Congenoff visited 
a day labor market in Kunming to talk to migrant workers.  All 
turned out to be from rural areas of southern Sichuan Province, 
and they claimed that most migrant laborers in Kunming came from 
Sichuan, Guizhou, or Han areas of northern Yunnan.  All were 
looking for construction work, ranging from completely unskilled 
to trades such as carpentry and plastering. 
 
¶8. (SBU) One 35 year-old migrant from the Yibin area (in 
southern Sichuan, adjacent to Kunming) said that he had heard of 
the possibility of hukou reform, but said "it was a matter of 
having the right connections."  Claiming that he would need at 
least 300,000 RMB (USD 40,000) to buy a residence in Kunming, he 
said that meeting such a qualification would be impossible on 
his current income of 20 to 30 RMB per day (USD 2.67 to 4.00). 
To the nods of bystanders, he said, "We have to accept our 
fate."  He denied that he had any desire to return home, saying 
life in Kunming was far better than what he had left behind - 
better weather and the relative abundance of job opportunities 
were key factors. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
COMMENT: LITTLE PRESSURE FOR CHANGE 
--------------------------------------------- ----------------- 
 
¶9. (SBU) Despite the initial excitement generated by what seems 
to have been an overly enthusiastic press release, prospects for 
meaningful hukou reform in Yunnan appear to be well behind those 
of other pilot areas such as Chongqing (reftel).  But as the 
YASS academics described, Yunnan is a somewhat unique province, 
with a diverse culture, a deeper attachment to the land, and 
lower rates of migration generally.  As long as the local 
economy continues to generate low-skilled construction and 
service sector jobs, it seems in the short run at least popular 
discontent over urban-rural divides is unlikely to reach crisis 
levels. 
BOUGHNER