Hukou reform needs to balance residents' interests

THE STATE COUNCIL has finished soliciting public opinions about the draft regulation on the household registration system, which is expected to reform the decades-old hukou system and grant those migrating from rural to urban areas equal access to public services in towns and cities. Comments:

It is common sense that the migrant population needs equal social services; the question is, who will pay? The central government needs to make clear how much contribution it will make to cover the additional costs, so that local authorities will support the reform instead of curbing it for their own interests.

Qiao Xiaochun, a professor in demographic studies at Peking University, Jan 5