Çin’de Sosyal Devlet Sorunsalı: Hukou Problemi

Abstract

1958 yılında yürürlüğe giren hukou sistemi, Çin'in göç terminolojisinde yer alan, kır ve kent kavramlarını birbirinden ayrıştırarak yurttaşları arasında sınıfsal fark gözeten hane halkı kayıt sistemidir. Çin’de vatandaşın adına kayıtlı ikametgâh belgesi (Hùkǒu běn: 户口本), doğum yerine göre belirlenir. Bu çalışma, toplamda dört bölümden oluşmaktadır. Birinci bölümde, hukou sisteminin kavramsal çerçevesi açıklanmıştır. Hukounun tanımı, kökenleri ve amaçları üzerinde durulmuştur ve hukou sisteminin hazırlanış safhası incelenmiş ve böyle bir sisteme neden ihtiyaç duyulduğu açıklanmaya çalışılmıştır. İkinci bölümde, bu sistemin temel sıkıntıları irdelenmiştir. Üçüncü bölümde, hukou sisteminin tarihsel gelişimi ve dönüşümü ile ilgili detaylı araştırmalar yapılmış ve dönemin reform hareketleri incelenmiştir. Son bölümde ise güncel sorunlar açıklanmıştır. Bu çalışmada hukou ile ilgili yazılmış birincil ve ikincil kaynaklar ile Çin Ulusal İstatistik Bürosu’nun verileri kullanılmıştır.

The hukou system, which came into force in 1958, is the household registration system in China's immigration terminology that distinguishes rural and urban concepts from each other, as well as differentiate between the economic classes. In China, the residence certificate (Hùkǒu běn: 户口本) registered in the name of the citizen is determined by the place of birth. This study consists of four chapters in total. In the first chapter, the conceptual framework of hukou are explained. The definition, origins and aims of the hukou are discussed. The preparation stage of the hukou system is examined and it is tried to explain why such a system was needed. In the second chapter, the main problems of this system are examined. In the third chapter, detailed researches about the historical development and transformation of the hukou system are carried out and the reform movements of the period are examined. In the last section, current problems are explained. In this study, the primary and secondary sources written about hukou system and the data of National Bureau of Statistics of China were used. Summary The hukou system, which is the household registration system in China's immigration that distinguishes rural and urban concepts, as well as differentiate between the economic classes. The system came into force in 1958 and continues today. In China, the residence certificate (Hùkǒu běn: 户口本) is determined by the place of birth of the registered citizen. The transition between rural hukou to urban hukou is almost impossible to differentiate. A research paper titled The Household Registration System and Social Stratification in China: 1955-1996 states that “the urban-rural gap has been likened to the distance between heaven (tian) and earth (di). Changing from rural hukou to urban hukou was more difficult than ‘climbing to heaven’’ (Wu and Treiman, 2002: 12). Before the implementation of hukou system, serious sanctions and precautions were taken in order to prevent the population flow from rural to urban areas. However, all of these practices had failed (Howe and Walker, 1989: 152-161). As measures taken were insufficient and the flow from rural to urban could not be prevented so the Communist Party of China (CPC) had considered the hukou system necessary (White, 2015: 62-127). The aim of this paper is to examine the hukou system and the reason why it was needed, to examine the regulations and reforms that were made in order to improve the system and to evaluate these reforms in parallel to social equality and the development of the country. In the literature review, it was observed that the existing studies have harshly criticized the hukou system and claimed that this system is not a favorable system for any country in conditions of the 21st century and it should be removed completely. In this study, in order to make an unbiased assessment of the hukou system, understanding what purposes the system was placed into effect. As well as why it was needed will be questioned and a detailed assessment of the situation will be made. Although the hukou system had created the inequality and class discrimination, when the condition of the period is considered, this system was regarded necessary by the Chinese leaders for the development and progress of the country. On the other hand, when the historical development and transformation of this system is examined, during the early years of the system, there was a perception that such a system was required. The implementation of the system was seen as a sacrifice for the development, progress and enrichment of the country. Therefore, Chinese people had not given any reaction to the restriction of their freedom of movement and residence which is one of the fundamental rights and freedoms of man. The qualitative research methods that were used are content and descriptive analysis. One of the challenges that was faced during this research, was finding and reaching primary sources, especially for data between 1949 to 1978 due to Mao’s totalitarian rule, and the devastating Cultural Revolution. Therefore, we have mostly used secondary sources and descriptive analyses in our research for that period. However, after Deng Xiaoping had took power in 1978 and started to open up the China gradually to the west, the primary sources and data has become more reachable. In this study, the primary and secondary sources written about hukou system and the data of National Bureau of Statistics of China were used. The hukou system has given the positive outputs with the policies implemented and China has started to develop economically. Correspondingly, with the development and enrichment of the country, Chinese people, especially rural hukou holders have not enriched simultaneously which has shown itself as a fundamental problem created by the system. As a consequence, especially rural hukou holders could not get any share from this development and enrichment. The CPC's arrangements and improvements to solve these problems have been insufficient (Wang and Liu, 2018: 158-161) and that’s how the main problem of the system has begun. Within this study, it was observed that instead of solving these problems radically, the CPC has been trying hard to sustain the system with the arrangements and improvements made where the system is blocked or predicted to be blocked in the future. When the CPC's regulations and improvements over the past 60 years are analyzed, it can be seen that CPC considers the hukou as one of the cornerstones of Chinese society and believes that this system is necessary. Therefore, no concrete steps have been taken to eliminate the problems which are mentioned above. As a result of this study, it was understood that the reform studies based on the improvement of the hukou system and the system constitutes an obstacle to the development of the state in the socio-economic sense. In this context, the result is that of China’s needs for an initiate change which is primarily based on socio-economic adjustment in order to continue its economic development. In this study, we will discuss the immediate abolition of the household registration system, which is one of the fundamental rights and freedoms of man as well as restricting freedom of movement and residence, and discriminating among Chinese citizens.