OPINION> Li Xing
Be more sensitive to migrants' dilemma
By Li Xing (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-01-08 07:39

When Liu Xiukun's 14-year-old daughter was awarded a 200-yuan scholarship for her good academic performance, he was understandably proud.

Liu, a native of Henan province, who has worked in Urumqi for more than four years, planned to use the money to buy his daughter some new clothes to celebrate Spring Festival.

First, however, in order to get the scholarship, Liu has to produce proof of residency from the community where he and his family now live. When he went to the community's administrative office, he was told that he would have to pay a community management fee and an apartment rental tax that his landlady owed to the administration, totaling 172 yuan.

Liu was caught in a dilemma. He wanted his daughter to receive the award, but he didn't want to force his landlady to pay the fee.

Liu's landlady was also in a fix. Once a farmer, she had seen her village turn into an urban residential community. Now her only income comes from renting rooms to migrant workers like Liu and his family. The rent she collects barely cover her expenses, she told reporters; she has no money to spare for administrative fees.

But the community administration was adamant. It would not give Liu proof of residency unless the fees were paid. The fees are required by the government, an official explained, and account for a good deal of the community's annual income.

Liu's dilemma is not new to migrant workers, and to others as well. His case exposes shortcomings with which our society and government must come to grips.

First, no matter how hard migrant workers and their children work and study, they are still treated as second-class citizens. In Liu's case, it was clear that he would need more than a work permit or temporary residency for his daughter to get the award. The school could have just handed over the money, but it didn't. Instead, the school officials demanded that Liu produce proof of residency, an unnecessary requirement that in itself indicates mistrust and discrimination.

Liu is not the only victim, however. Many farmers like Liu's landlady are given apartments or money in exchange for their land when it is developed. But once the land is sold, these people are left to fend for themselves; many of them do not have the skills necessary to support themselves.

I once lived in a residential complex where many of my neighbors were like Liu's landlady. They often quarreled; I saw frustration and hopelessness in their eyes. Without their ancestral land, they didn't know how to make a living.

I believe it is the local government's duty to give people like Liu's landlady the training they need to stand on their own feet and work for a brighter future.

However, I doubt if Liu's community is even aware of its duties. Apparently, the administration is concerned only with collecting fees. Not only is it not helping residents move ahead, but also it is standing in their way. Worse more, its officials have shown no sympathy for the Lius.

Here's hoping the community administration comes to its senses in time for Liu's daughter to celebrate Spring Festival in some new clothes!

E-mail: lixing@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 01/08/2009 page8)