Shenzhen: revamping the registration system

Getty Images via DaylifeInhabitants of the south-Chinese city of Shenzhen have since August 1 a new registration system that allows more of the floating migrant population to register in the city, an step in the local governments' efforts to change from cheap manufacturing to more high-end services, writes EEO.com.
Now only two million out of the estimated fourteen million inhabitants have an official registration with all the rights and benefits that come along with it; most migrant workers are second rank citizens, like in most cities, although the percentage is very high in Shenzhen compared to other cities like Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai.
The experiment is interesting, not because it diverts from the three decade old system of organizing migrant labor, but it might also be a test that might be expanded to other parts of China when it is a success.
The move might be partly driven by economic necessity since an increasing number of migrant workers is not accepting the current situation, creating a labor shortage that is expected to have nationwide effects by 2009.
Several cities in Guangdong province want to move to a more service-oriented economy and a stable work force with higher educational standards are needed to achieve that goal. Because of its high percentage of migrant workers, the educational level of inhabitants in Shenzhen is much lower than that in Beijing or Shanghai.
EEO.com talked to one of the architects of the new registration system in Shenzhen Gao Huayou.

According to research from the National Development and Reform Commission, for transforming all "floating" residents into registered residents, Shenzhen needs to invest 200-billion yuan in 3 years. We have also done research back in 1995 and estimated that for each floating resident to become a permanent one, the Shenzhen municipal treasury needed to fork out 150,000 yuan. In 2007 the cost per person would have been around 350,000....
The EO: In other words, the objective of the new pass is to control and manage the population?
Gao: Yes. In 2001, when the policy of detention and repatriation of migrants without temporary resident permits was abolished, the temporary population in Shenzhen balloned from seven million to 10 million people in two years. During that time, Shenzhen faced 176,000 businesses operating without proper documents, and 600,000 street vendors without permits. These created chaos in terms of city management.

An 'ideal' size for Shenzhen has not yet been set.

Update: Just walking into this entry at China Hearsay, working on the same theme.