How to achieve equal rights after farmers become residents

Beijing recently issued the "Implementation Opinions on Further Advancing the Reform of the Household Registration System," abolishing the distinction between agricultural and non-agricultural household registration and uniformly registering them as resident households. With this, all provinces across the country have issued household registration system reform plans, abolishing the distinction between agricultural and non-agricultural household registration.

This is a major step forward in history: in the sprint to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects, resolutely break the urban-rural dual household registration system and gradually resolve the issue of farmers' full national treatment.

Under the urban-rural dual household registration system, "farmer" is not only an occupational identity; it also means an economic identity, a legal identity, a social identity... A single household registration document divides urban and rural residents across various fields, treating them differently. Farmers cannot enjoy the same treatment as urban residents in employment, healthcare, education and other areas.

The imbalance and lack of coordination in urban-rural development remain prominent contradictions in our country's current economic and social development, and are major issues that must be resolved to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects and accelerate socialist modernization. To fundamentally solve the problem, it is necessary to break the urban-rural dual structure and advance the integration of urban and rural development.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as General Secretary has attached great importance to rural work. The General Secretary has stressed many times that "whether we have achieved moderate prosperity or not, the key lies with our fellow countrymen." On July 30, 2014, the State Council issued the "Opinions on Further Advancing the Reform of the Household Registration System," and localities successively issued related household registration reform policies, carrying out institutional design to break the urban-rural dual household registration system and give farmers full national treatment.

From "farmer" to "resident," a difference of one word, a world of difference, but moving from a change in wording to a substantive change requires more effort, more follow-up policies, and close collaboration among relevant departments.

For example, after farmers become residents, how can they obtain public services and rights equal to those of urban residents in employment, education, healthcare, social security, housing and other areas? Another example: how can the fiscal investment in urban and rural public infrastructure construction be integrated to make up for the shortcomings in rural infrastructure? A further example: regarding the rural land issue that rural residents worry about after the abolition of agricultural household registration, how can rural land reform be further deepened, and through systems such as land rights confirmation and equal prices for the same land, achieve equal "rights" for the same land and obtain land returns, so that they can fairly share the fruits of modernization?

On the land of China, a magnificent process of modernization is advancing. The former farmers, today's residents, whether they live in rural areas, are migrating to towns and cities, or have already settled in cities, all eagerly hope that well-intentioned policies can bring them a substantial sense of gain, and enable them to participate equally in the modernization process and jointly share the fruits of modernization.