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Peripheral citizens -- The 2nd generation of migrant workers
(china.org.cn)
Updated: 2005-12-27 15:21
China's current pool of migrant workers, or cheap labor from the rural areas,
is the second generation of migrant worker since China opened its economy 20
years ago.
This new generation of worker looks very much like his urban counterpart in
terms of appearance, but is no nearer to gaining a foothold in the city than his
predecessors were.
Migrant workers
await trains outside a trian station. They leave for cities in the hope to
seek a better life. [newsphoto] |
Figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) show that the current
migrant worker population working in cities is over 90 million, of which 45
percent are below 25 years old.
But researchers are suspicious of these figures. Wang Chunguang, a researcher
with the Sociology Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS),
estimates that the number is more likely to be 150 million, 120 million of whom
are second generation.
A large proportion of the first-generation migrant workers has gone back to
their hometowns, after having retired, as it were. Only those who were
successful in business or in securing a career for themselves remain in the
cities.
A generation that knows no starvation
Dr. Liu Kaiming, director of the Shenzhen Institute of Contemporary
Observation (ICO), defines the new generation of migrant worker as "one that has
never known starvation".
China's rural reform took place in the 1980s, around the time when this
generation of migrant worker was born. Except for the remote mountain regions,
the reforms helped to ease food shortages in China's countryside.
During the course of his study of the new generation of migrant worker, Dr.
Liu often visited factories scattered on the Pearl River Delta. He said he could
distinguish between the new and first generation worker just from the physical
appearance. "The first generation worker tends to look a lot older than he
really is. He dresses simply and lives a frugal life. The new generation is as
fashionably dressed as his urban counterpart, the only thing setting him apart
from the urbanite being his self-confidence, especially when speaking," Dr Liu
said.
When he first arrived in Shenzhen in 1997, Liu remembers long queues at the
city's post offices every Sunday. They were migrant workers remitting money to
their families. But those long queues have since disappeared. Liu wonders if the
new generation migrant worker sends money home. His studies show that some of
the women might, but not the men.
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