Immigration News: July, 2005 - Volume 12

China, Hong Kong

China is rapidly urbanizing, in part because urban incomes are higher than rural incomes. In 1980, about 80 percent of Chinese residents lived in rural areas, and their disposable income was about the same as urban Chinese. However, the gap between urban and rural incomes has widened sharply, especially after 1995, as many urban residents benefit from China's integration into the global economy while many rural residents fall further behind. In some cases, prices received by farmers have gone down as imports increase, and prices paid by farmers have risen as the government removes subsidies.

By 2005, urban incomes of $1,200 per person were about four times the average rural income of $300 a person, and rural-urban migration has meant that 40 percent of the 1.3 billion Chinese are now in urban areas. Some economists want to accelerate the pace of rural-urban migration, arguing that, unless the rate is raised above the current one percent a year, rural incomes will remain far below urban incomes. If rural-urban migration were 1.5 percent a year, 80 percent of Chinese would be urban residents by 2030.

China has more than 200 cities with populations of more than a million. The most populous city in the world is Chongqing, located in the center of China. However, only five percent of the Chinese live in middle-class households, defined as those that have an income of at least $10,000 a year.

Chinese workers and entrepreneurs have moved to Siberia to use their agricultural and greenhouse skills to grow vegetables in a land where winter lasts for six months. Some Russians merchants complain they are being forced out of work due to low prices of Chinese products. Most Chinese go to Russia legally with tourist or business visas, but many overstay and few have work permits or pay taxes.

Hong Kong. Surveys of Indonesian maids in Hong Kong reported that over 40 percent received less than the minimum wage of HK$3,270 a month, even though many said they signed receipts provided by their employers showing that they earned the minimum. Most also paid more than the 10 percent that Hong Kong allows to be charged in recruitment fees (Indonesia allows higher fees, and some maids reported paying over five months salary).

David Holley, "Chinese Workers Sowing Dreams in Siberia," Los Angeles Times, June 12, 2005.