View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by University of Kentucky University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--Geography Geography 2015 Regulating Urban Belonging: China's Hukou System as Intra- national Bordering Process Leif Johnson University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Johnson, Leif, "Regulating Urban Belonging: China's Hukou System as Intra-national Bordering Process" (2015). Theses and Dissertations--Geography. 36. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/geography_etds/36 This Master's Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Geography at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--Geography by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 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Leif Johnson, Student Dr. Patricia Ehrkamp, Major Professor Dr. Patricia Ehrkamp, Director of Graduate Studies REGULATING URBAN BELONGING: CHINA’S HUKOU SYSTEM AS INTRA-NATIONAL BORDERING PROCESS _________________________ THESIS _________________________ A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Leif Johnson Director: Dr. Patricia Ehrkamp Lexington, Kentucky 2015 This thesis is licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA ABSTRACT OF THESIS REGULATING URBAN BELONGING: CHINA’S HUKOU SYSTEM AS INTRA- NATIONAL BORDERING PROCESS In China's urban metropoles, the hukou system of household registration regulates one of the largest movements of people in human history. While rural-urban migrations are reshaping societies worldwide, the migrants who make up a great portion of urban China's low-wage labor force and burgeoning population face unique legal and social challenges. Although the trajectories of their migration do not cross international boundaries, most are legally prevented from ever gaining the within China's hukou system of household registration. The functions of this system parallel those of national citizenship policies, and are difficult to explain through standard conceptions of sovereignty and national citizenship. Extending recent work in border studies that thinks of borders in dimensions that go beyond the line itself, this thesis argues that national borders and national citizenship should not be considered as the exclusive sites from which bordering processes emanate. Instead, I argue that citizenship and bordering processes can both take place apart from the norms of nation-state territory. Based on a series of qualitative interviews conducted in Shanghai and Anhui province, this article examines the structure and effects of the hukou system as it regulates legal inclusion and exclusion of migrant workers. Keywords: Internal Migration, China, Hukou, Citizenship, Bordering REGULATING URBAN BELONGING: CHINA’S HUKOU SYSTEM AS INTRA- NATIONAL BORDERING PROCESS By Leif Johnson Dr. Patricia Ehrkamp Chair of Committee Dr. Patricia Ehrkamp Director of Graduate Studies 5/28/2015 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This thesis would not have been written without assistance in all aspects. First, thanks are due to Patricia Ehrkamp for advice, support, and more positivity than I usually thought was possible. Sue Roberts, Andrew Wood, and Liang Luo were all gracious enough to be on my committee and read my work, which I’m very grateful for. In China, Li Zhang was the most gracious host I could ask for, and a great part of what I understand about the hukou system is due to his patient explanations. Tao Li, Miao Jiaju and Yuan Jing were also incredibly helpful, and my research would not have happened in anywhere near the same way if it were not for their explanations, translations, and profound generosity. I am also very grateful to Matthew Rosenblum, Emily Kaufman, and Mitch Snider for insightful critiques of my ideas and how I tried to explain them. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute, award # 1414810. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEGMENTS ..................................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES ...........................................................................................................v C HAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................1 Hukou and mangliu: Histories of Chinese Migration and Control ...............................5 China’s contemporary floating population ...................................................................10 Shanghai: History of a migrant metropolis ...................................................................13 Researching the hukou system in Shanghai ..................................................................16 Thesis outline ................................................................................................................23 CHAPTER 2: CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK .............................................................27 Citizenship and legalized community belonging ..........................................................30 Developments in border theory beyond the line ...........................................................36 Urban citizenship: Connecting the hukou system to international bordering ...............41 Borders, territory, and the hukou system ......................................................................48 CHAPTER 3: THE HUKOU SYSTEM AND URBAN CITIZENSHIP ........................54 The hukou system and the boundaries of (urban) citizenship: Bordering as legal exclusion ......................................................................................................................55 Healthcare and citizenship ............................................................................................57 Education and citizenship .............................................................................................62 Flexible inclusion and points systems ...........................................................................69 Citizenship and bordering .............................................................................................75 CHAPTER 4: SUZHI QUALITY DISCOURSE AND EMBODIED BORDERS .........77 Identity and local belonging ..........................................................................................82 Quality and discrimination in suzhi discourse ..............................................................86 Theorizing borders with suzhi: the embodiment of not-belonging ...............................90 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ........................................................................................94 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................98 VITA ................................................................................................................................106 iv LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Interviews and Focus Groups ............................................................................. 22 v Chapter 1: Introduction In contemporary Shanghai, the evidence of internal migration is woven through the fabric of the city itself. Its impact on the city’s role as the greatest economic and financial center in modern China is undeniable. When I asked a group of financial professionals about the role migrants have played in the city’s development, the response was simple. Gesturing out the window of the 40th floor conference room toward the glittering skyline of central Shanghai, a young actuary gave a simple but powerful answer: “Without them, buildings like this could not be built.” The internal migrants whose labor plays an integral part not only in construction but also in Shanghai’s burgeoning service industry, however, are set apart from their counterparts elsewhere around