The number of migrants is much higher than the former average of several thousands per year, according to latest statistics provided by the city government.

To encourage Chinese citizens to move inland more freely, Zhengzhou plans to completely smash barriers for permanent residency in the future, according to a senior official from the city government.

Under a new household registration scheme intro-duced last year, anybody who has a legal permanent address and legal steady work and income, with an average income higher than the minimum level set by the city government, may apply to settle in Zhengzhou.

To help implement the new scheme, the city's Public Security Bureau has set up five household registration centers in the city and urged staff to improve services and handle registration within 24 hours.

Zhengzhou has also opened its door wider to highly trained personnel. Since the beginning of last year, city authorities have recruited skilled people from other parts of China for 500 positions at the lowest official level and above, including 98 at county level for people with doctorates. The city plans to woo another 100-150 doctorate holders in the next three years.

Zhengzhou used to set annual quotas for allocating permanent residency, and a multi-level approval system for applicants.

(eastday.com November 20, 2002)