중국 호적제도 개혁과 변천의 경제적 요인 분석

Abstract

This paper focused on analyzing specific economic backgrounds and causes under the assumption that China’s family register system reforms and changes are closely related to changes in the economic environment and government policies. In the early days of the establishment of New China, freedom of residence and transfer was guaranteed as a basic right of citizens, allowing free family transfer. In 1953, as the industrialization strategy centered on the heavy industry was promoted along with the “first-five-year Plan”, China’s family registration policy turned to strictly controlling the urban migration of rural populations. In a situation where external capital procurement windows are extremely limited and national finances are also very weak, China is contributing to exploitation of agriculture and farmers through a’planned purchase and planned supply’ policy for agricultural products, a dual price system for industrial and agricultural products, and agricultural aggregation. The raised capital was utilized as the largest investment fund for industrialization focused on heavy industry. In addition, China enacted the “Hukou Registration Ordinance” in 1958 for the smooth progress and success of its strategy for prioritizing heavy industry development and industrialization, and established a dual family registration system to restrain urban population growth and control rural population migration to cities. Even after the family registration system was established, a large-scale rural population moved to the city by taking advantage of temporary family register management gaps amidst the steel production movement during the great leap forward, the famine and food crisis that lasted for 3 years from 1959-61, and the great chaos during the Cultural Revolution. Reverse urbanization was undertaken to reduce the urban population through political mobilization and administrative measures, such as reduction of staff, the cadres go to the countryside, and the educated youth going to the mountain and countryside. This was to prevent the increase in the urban population, the beneficiaries of the family registration system, and the government’s financial burden, and to secure the exploited rural farmers as much as possible to ensure the financing necessary for industrialization and food production. After the reform and opening up, the agricultural production responsibility system, promoted in rural areas, greatly improved productivity and generated a large surplus of rural labor force. The reform of state-owned enterprises, which started with the expansion of sovereignty, revitalized the urban economy and rapidly developed various proprietary enterprises, resulting in a large demand for labor. In response to these changes in the economic environment, various “change from rural to non-rural” policies have emerged, and the transfer of Hukou from rural to urban areas has begun. The rapid growth of Hyangjin enterprises in the 1980s allowed farmers to collect and migrate, and in the 1990s, the establishment of a socialist market economy system and the rapid economic development centered on the Southeast coast led to the emergence of various temporary shelters and a comprehensive family registration system reform in small towns. The phenomenon of ‘Tide of Migrant Workers’, or urban migration of the population, appeared. After that, as economic development and marketization reform expanded, various policies for relocation were promoted. In particular, in the 2000s, pursuing sustainable development through the change of economic development method, the need to expand domestic demand emerged. Reform of unification of urban and rural family registers is being promoted, centering on service equalization. The dual family register system, which has been maintained in China for a long time, between urban and rural areas is now expected to disappear as a path behind history.