System is not necessary

Shenzhen, Guangdong province, was diagnosed as having terminal lung cancer in 2013. Although he no longer desires to live, he has to take painful treatment and pay the cost to stay alive because his son and wife will not get a local hukou, or residence registration, until June next year. Comments:

Many have called for the local government to approve Wu’s application as a special case, so that he can rest in peace. However, the problem is not about one single person; many people are struggling to get a similar piece of paper. The central authorities have said they will equalize all welfare and end discrimination based on the hukou system; when will this happen?

The various conferences of the central leadership of the Communist Party of China have all made clear that reform will be introduced to equalize the rights and welfare of residents no matter where they are registered. This might be a long-term goal, considering the economic imbalances, but at least there is hope. Wu’s case can propel the reform forward so that similar tragedies won’t be repeated.

While most countries require foreign immigrants to reside there for a certain length of time before accepting them as permanent residents, China has a similar requirement for its own citizens. This is a legacy of history, in which the modern value of equality was not yet widely accepted. Now everybody accepts the value, so please introduce reform to cancel the discriminative policy before it causes any more tragedies.