Population Mobility in the People's Republic of China. Papers of the East-West Population Institute, No. 95.

In attempts to forestall problems inherent in too-rapid urbanization, China has instituted a migration policy designed to strictly control changes in permanent residence from rural areas or small urban places to larger cities and to encourage the development of small cities and towns. The policy is enforced through the household registration system, whereby each person has an official place of residence and must obtain official permission to change locations. Within these controls, considerable migration does occur, much of it for job-related reasons or for education. Such temporary migration, which has increased greatly, is sanctioned because it is seen as providing benefits without concurrently imposing burdens on the cities. Temporary movement (1) absorbs a considerable portion of the surplus rural areas; (2) generates income to fuel a rising standard of living in rural areas; (3) meets demands for service workers and other needs associated with improving the quality of life in cities; and most importantly, (4) provides linkages between rural and urban places. Coupled with a realization on restrictions governing permanent migration from villages to towns, temporary movement may serve as a first step in the development of small, rural oriented urban centers that are intended to provide employment opportunities and some urban amenities not otherwise available in rural areas. It remains to be seen whether such towns or the temporary contacts that peasants have with the cities will satisfy the rising consumer demands and aspirations for a better quality of life, or whether the listed exposure to urban life styles will instead increase peasants' desire to live in cities. (LH)