Building a "harmonious society" is today the catchphrase of China's political life, and is set to stay that way for many years to come. The road towards that goal, however, is long and arduous, for we have to overcome the widening rural-urban disparities, soaring wealth gap between the rich and the poor and unemployment. The list could go on.

Instead of fixing one problem at a time, can we find a stone that can kill more than one bird at the same time? Perhaps.

President Hu Jintao's conception of a "harmonious society" is one that features "democracy, the rule of law, equity, justice, sincerity, amity and vitality." Equity and justice mean a platform where the people can work to their full ability and compete for social and economic status on equal terms.

Such an environment would certainly be conducive to the building of a "harmonious society" and to the resolution of a domestic migration problem that can't wait any longer to be addressed.

Nowadays, our cities have millions of rural migrants waiting, and at times fighting, for the economic and social status that their urban compatriots enjoy as a birthright.

Since we shifted from a command to market economy in the early 1980s, millions of farmers have left their homes lured by the riches of the cities. In about 20 years, more than 140 million have made the move, making it the largest rural-to-urban migration in history.

Migrants still take up, as they used to, menial jobs shunned by urban dwellers in the construction, manufacturing, mining and services industries. But despite their backbreaking labour contributing to the economy, they are not eligible to share with their urban brethren the essential services such as education, healthcare and social security benefits.

Why? Because of the household registration (hukou) system that divides Chinese society into rural and urban residents.

Comparing the hukou system to India's dreaded caste structure, as some critics have done, would be too far-fetched. But there's no denying the fact that rural migrant workers do face discrimination in almost all walks of life.

Since most white-collar and managerial jobs require an urban hukou and higher education, the migrants have no option but to look for physically demanding jobs that provide neither fair wages nor security.

China's coal-mining industry alone accounted for an average annual death toll of 6,282 people from 2001 to 2004, with most of the casualties being migrant workers.

Despite the inherent hazards of a mining job, such as pneumosilicosis, they get no healthcare cover from their employers if they work for private coal mines. This practice is not confined to coal mines; it pervades other sectors as well.

Because of the temporary nature of their employment, migrant workers don't always sign a contract with their employers, putting themselves at a greater disadvantage when labour disputes arise.

This at times makes them resort to desperate measures. Last month in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, migrant worker Wang Binyu was executed for killing four people because his employer wouldn't pay him his hard-earned 5,000 yuan (US$616). Wang worked a full year for a building contractor only to find his wages withheld. When a heated argument turned sour, he stabbed to death the four people in a fit of rage.

Wang's case and a string of other labour disputes have prompted the central government to order employers to clear migrant workers' arrears as soon as possible. But even if all the employers comply with the government's order, that will solve only part of the problem.

For example, migrants today can't get proper education for their children in the cities. Regular city schools are either off limits for them or charge extra fees that they can hardly afford. An urban hukou could thus mean access to better education and the difference between a high-paying, white-collar job for their children and a lifetime of manual labour.

Like in most of the countries across the world, migrant workers in China, too, live in poor conditions on the outskirts of cities. The high unemployment rate in these areas can suck not only the migrants, but also their disillusioned children, into the world of crime.

The central government is relaxing the rigid hukou system, and some migrant workers, especially those with a regular job to do and a regular place to live in, will be able to settle down in cities. But that again may not be enough. We'll have to develop, albeit very gradually, the rural areas, too, so as to stem the flow of migrants into the cities. Only then will real integration begin and the flower of harmony blossom.

Email: zouhr@chinadaily.com.hk

(China Daily 11/25/2005 page4)