中國户籍制度改革計劃開始成形
Last week China put some flesh on the bones of its plans to reform its hukou, or household-registration, system, which determines where people can settle based on a series of exacting requirements akin to many countries' visa rules.
上週，中國政府公佈了一些關於户籍制度改革計劃的新細節。中國的户籍制度有點像許多國家的簽證制度，它根據一系列嚴格的要求來決定人口的落户地點。Under the hukou regime, which dates back to the 1950s, migrants have limited access to health care, education and other social benefits outside their hometowns. This forces many migrant workers to leave their children behind when they Move to cities to find work so they can attend school. Switching a hukou can be extremely challenging.
中國的户籍制度始於上世紀50年代。在該制度下，流動人口在户籍地以外地區可享受的醫療、教育以及其他社會福利受到限制。這就迫使許多外出務工者到城市去打工時把自己的孩子留在户籍地，以便他們可以在老家上學。在中國，遷户口是一件非常困難的事情。
The system has succeeded in preventing the emergence of shantytowns around China's cities (though many migrants still live in rotten conditions). But it comes at the cost of breaking up families and forcing migrants from the countryside to live as second-class citizens in urban areas.
户籍制度有效遏制了城市周圍棚户區的出現（儘管許多流動人口的生活條件仍很惡劣）。但它的代價是，造成家庭成員的分離，迫使來自農村的務工者以二等公民的身份在城鎮生活。
To address this injustice, China's government has promised change. But its plans are cautious, with restrictions to be lifted first in small towns. More stringent requirements will remain on those who want to live in larger cities, which are generally more attractive to migrants.
為解決這一不公平問題，中國政府承諾對户籍制度進行改革。但政府的改革計劃非常謹慎，初期階段政府將開放小城鎮的落户限制。那些想留在大中城市生活的外來人口將面臨更嚴格的落户要求。總體而言，大中城市對外來人口更具吸引力。The State Council, or cabinet, set out guidelines ( in Chinese) last week, emphasizing that cities have plenty of leeway to set their own residency requirements, based on criteria like what jobs someone does and how long he or she has paid into the local social-insurance system.
國務院上週發佈了指導意見，強調各個城市根據各自的情況設定自己的落户要求，落户條件包括工作類型以及社保繳納時限等。Even so, the very largest cities -- defined as those above 5 million in population, which covers a dozen or more Chinese conurbations -- are still advised to 'strictly control the scale of the population,' using a points-based system to give priority to those with college degrees or who have studied abroad.
即便如此，特大型城市（人口超過五百萬，包含十幾個甚至更多衞星城的城市）仍需嚴格控制人口數量，它們可以使用積分落户機制優先解決高學歷以及海外留學人員的落户問題。The State Council did set a few limits on what cities can ask for: they aren't allowed to consider the price or area of an applicant's apartment, and there is a maximum limit on the social-insurance contributions they can insist on: five years in the case of large cities.
國務院也規定了一些不能列入落户條件的指標，例如對申請人住房的價格或面積提出要求。國務院也提出了社保繳納時限最高限制條件：大城市為五年。But reform could still run into trouble. A survey by the Sichuan province bureau of statistics, published last week, found that 90% of migrant workers don't even want an urban hukou.
但户籍改革仍會遇到障礙。據四川省統計局上週發佈的一項調查顯示，90%的農民工並不想要城市户口。For many, the benefits of better health care and being able to bring their children with them don't outweigh the perks of rural residency, which include a guaranteed (though generally very small) allocation of agricultural land, the survey found.
調查發現，對於許多農民工來説，更好的醫療條件以及能夠將孩子帶在身邊的便利無法超越農村户口帶給他們的好處。農村户口能夠分到一塊耕地，雖然面積通常很小。
