Chinese Migrant Workers: Historical and Contemporary Reflections

Author: Chen Anmin, Liu Xiaoxia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: The wave of migrant workers that emerged after China's reform and opening up arrived suddenly. This left neither the migrant workers themselves nor society or the government adequately prepared or theoretically supported. Consequently, a series of problems followed one after another.
For the migrant workers themselves, their behavior was often blind and unconscious, leaving them at the mercy of natural laws. In the fierce competition, they were sifted and sorted, undergoing rapid changes: some became tycoons and entrepreneurs; others wandered from place to place yet struggled to make ends meet; some even bled and cried.
For society, since the interests of migrant workers were intertwined with those of urban residents and the middle class, disputes arose frequently in areas such as labor wages, housing, children's education, medical care, and social security, leading to endless lawsuits.
For the government, the migrant worker issue touched deep-rooted problems like the dual urban-rural economic structure, industrialization, urbanization, and marketization. Compounded by financial shortages, institutional inefficiencies, and inadequate regulations, the government found it difficult to come up with effective solutions.
It was precisely these vivid social realities that called on the conscience of theoretical workers, urging them to pay attention to migrant workers, get close to them, empathize with them, and study them. It was under these circumstances, driven by conscience and a sense of responsibility, that several of us resolved to write and publish China's Migrant Workers—Historical and Contemporary Reflections. We hope this book will serve as a reference for fellow scholars and decision-makers.