No incentive

A recent survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences targeting 120,000 migrant workers with rural hukou suggests that about 80 percent of them are unwilling to switch status, Guangdong-based Guangzhou Daily reported Friday.

"With a rural hukou, I can at least support myself and my family by farming. With an urban hukou, I will remain a migrant worker with a low salary, and if I find myself jobless, I will barely be able to survive in cities with the high prices of housing and living," a migrant worker, Wu Jinghua from Guangzhou, said.

Chen Yue, deputy head of the Village Institute at the Chongqing Academy of Social Sciences, told Beijing News earlier that compared with rural people, urban residents face more pressure when it comes to finding jobs and buying apartments.

"Urbanization is a trend. But local governments, instead of forcing people to switch hukou, should think more about how to ensure farmers get their due compensation after giving up their rural hukou and how they can achieve sustainable development after coming to cities," Duan Chengrong, a professor of population at the Renmin University of China, told the Global Times yesterday. "Cities should offer housing and public services to them and ensure they can enjoy the same resources and welfare services as other urban residents."