Here’s an interesting story: A family in Shunyi is upset because their township family planning office won’t let them register their child with an agricultural hukou (户口, residence registration). They want their child to have an agricultural registration because that will allow him to benefit from more favourable policies.

农村婴儿难上农村户口

Village baby has difficulty getting village residence registration

顺义区李桥镇一村民不满；当地计生部门称鼓励“入非”，但非强制

Villager from Liqiao Township, Shunyi District not satisfied; local family planning bureau says non-agricultural registration encouraged, not forced

顺义区李桥镇村民为孩子办理户口手续时被镇计生办告知，只能入非农业户口。村民孙先生认为农业户口能享受许多优惠政策，该规定不合理。当地计生部门人员称，目前鼓励新生儿登记非农业户口，但非强制，不过“之前很多类似情况者都已入非农业户口”。

When a villager in Liqiao Township, Shunyi District was processing his child’s residence registration, he was notified by the township Family Planning Office that he could only enter a non-agricultural residence registration. Villager Mr Sun believes an agricultural residence registration can enjoy more favourable policies, and this rule is unreasonable. A worker at the local family planning department says that at present they encourage but do not force new borns to take a non-agricultural residence registration, and besides, “before plenty of people in this kind of situation entered a non-agricultural residence registration.”

村民

Villager

孩子入农业户口遭拒

Child refused agricultural residence registration

顺义区李桥镇村民孙先生致电本报热线称，他们夫妇二人都是本市农业户口，想让孩子也入农业户口。上周到镇计生办办理相关手续时，工作人员告知按规定孩子户口性质只能为非农业，否则不予办理。

Villager Mr Sun of Liqiao Township, Shunyi District called this newspaper’s hotline saying that he and his wife both had Beijing agricultural residence registrations, and wanted their child to enter an agricultural residence registration. When they went to the township Family Planning Office to undertake the procedures last week, a worker informed them that according to the rules the child’s residence registration could only be entered as non-agricultural, otherwise it would not be processed.

“之前咨询过，上不上农业户口都是可以的。”孙先生认为，既然父母都是农业户口，所生子女也应当可以入农业户口。农业户口可以享受到很多惠农政策，镇里的规定不合理。

“From earlier enquiries, taking an agricultural or non-agricultural residence registration were all ok.” Mr Sun believes that since both parents have agricultural residence registrations, any child they have should be able to enter an agricultural residence registration. Agricultural residence registrations can enjoy many policies benefiting rural areas, and the township’s rule is unreasonable.

计生办

Family Planning Office

家长可自愿选择孩子户口

Parents can freely choose their child’s residence registration

顺义区人口与计划生育委员会工作人员解释，为加快城市化进程，区里出台政策鼓励新生儿登记非农业户口。按孙先生的情况，可自愿为孩子选择登记“农业户口”或“非农业户口”。

A worker from the Shunyi District Population and Family Planning Commission explained that in order to speed urbanisation, the district set a policy to encourage the registration of new borns as non-agricultural. According to Mr Sun’s situation, he can freely choose to register his child as “agricultural” or “non-agricultural”.

李桥镇计生办工作人员称，他们已知晓孙先生的情况。镇里确实出台文件提倡新生儿“入非”，但不是强制要求。孙先生的担忧没有必要，非农业户口享受优惠政策和待遇并不会少于农业户口。

A worker from the Liqiao Township Family Planning Office said they were already aware of Mr Sun’s situation. The township had in fact put out a document advocating the registration of new borns as “non-agricultural”, but this was not a compulsory requirement. There was no need for Mr Sun to worry, non-agricultural residence registrations enjoy favourable policies and will not receive any less than agricultural residence permits.

“动了一个，以前的怎么办？”这位工作人员说之前很多类似情况者都已入非农业户口，若为孙先生孩子办理农业户口，会引发很多问题。目前计生办正与孙先生沟通协商，“尽量想办法替他解决”。

“If he moves, what will he do about the earlier one?” This worker said that before many people in this kind of situation have all already entered a non-agricultural residence registration. If Mr Sun takes an agricultural residence registration, it could cause many problems. At present the Family Planning Office is talking things over with Mr Sun, “We’re doing all we can to think of a way to solve this for him.”

北京市公安局人口管理处工作人员称，父母均为本市农业户口的，孩子户口性质可自愿选择“农业”或“非农业”。

A worker from the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau Population Management Office said that as both parents had Beijing agricultural residence registrations, they can freely choose an “agricultural” or “non-agricultural” residence permit for the child.

■ 说法

■ Opinion

村民：农业户口好处多

Villager: Many advantages to agricultural residence permit

顺义区李桥镇村民孙先生认为，农业户口比非农业户口得到的好处要多。如果孩子入了非农业户口，村里分配宅基地和耕地时将不再有份；现有 的房屋和土地，孩子继承时会面临问题；自家房屋或土地拆迁，孩子拿到的补偿费用会减少。村集体收益分成、各级政府给予农村的各项补贴和优惠政策等，非农业 户口也都不能享受。

Liqiao Township, Shunyi District villager Mr Sun believes that an agricultural residence registration will bring many more benefits than a non-agricultural one. If the child enters a non-agricultural residence registration. If the child takes a non-agricultural residence registration, then when the village is alloting land for housing or cultivation, he won’t be alloted any. With the current house and land, when the child inherits it, he’ll run into problems. If his own family’s house or land are demolished or moved, the child will get less compensation. When the village’s collective profits are distributed or with subsidies and favourable policies from every level of government, those with non-agricultural residence registrations will get nothing.

First up, it seems fairly clear to me that there’s been some serious miscommunication between Mr Sun and his township Family Planning Office, quite possibly compounded by an overzealous local official.

But what a curious attitude! Sure, Mr Sun raises some real issues with housing, land and inheritance, and sure, we’re going to see more and more subsidies and other favourable policies extended to rural areas and farmers, but the countryside is slowly emptying out, has been for years. Rural schools are seeing their students disappear into townships, county towns and cities with better educational opportunities. Young rural people, regardless of whether they’re registered as “agricultural” or “non-agricultural”, are flooding into urban areas.

And in my experience, admittedly limited to two clans (Ma’s and Ba’s) mostly in Yanqing (but with still one or two of Ma’s clan staying in the ancestral village in Huailai), I cannot think of any rural parent I’ve met who wants their child to till the soil. Nor can I think of any rural child who wants to farm. lzh, her brother (her generation was born at a time when rural families in Beijing were legally allowed two children) and all her cousins are either studying or working in at least the county town, if not Beijing or other cities, in fields decidedly non-agricultural- fields as diverse as taxi driving, medicine, construction, translation and editing, casual labour… But nothing agricultural.

In fact, I sent lzh the link to this story, and her response was similar to mine (taken off MSN):

挺逗

So funny

以前大家都抢非农户口

Before everybody grabbed non-agricultural residence registrations

现在相反了

Now it’s the opposite

Indeed, her parents made sure to get non-agricultural residence registrations for her and her brother.

And yet Mr Sun wants his child to be able to till the land. Most curious indeed.

Has anybody else out there familiar with rural China come across this kind of attitude? Or does your experience match mine?

Update: He’s still being refused an agricultural residence registration– and the plot thickens. Apparently all villages in the district are required to have 100% of rural newborns register as non-agricultural. But nobody’s being forced to take a non-agricultural residence registration. No, I don’t get it either, and nor does Mr Sun.