From Apartheid to Partial Protection: Chinese Peasant Workers and the State

In this paper, we attempt to analyze the changing social status of Chinese peasant workers. First, we examine the institutional marginalization of peasant workers by tracing the origin to China's dual class structure created by the household registration or hukou system. Next, we compare their treatment to the system of Apartheid in South Africa. The similarities and differences between the two systems will be highlighted. Third, we idenity the transformation of migration policy and introduction of sundry measures to extend their rights. We argue that the scope and pace of instiitutional modifications represent a paradigm shift from apartheid-like exclusion to enhanced protection, but still a far cry from full citizenship. In the final part, we present empirical findings from our research completed in 2005 to test our argument. The empirical evidence from a sample of 2617 migrants supports our thesis that notwithstanding the crescendo of right-conferring policies, migrant workers enjoy only partial protection. The pathway to full citizenship is still long and harzardous.