"A central rationale of such policies, particularly in first tier-cities, has been to prevent severe overcrowding, infrastructure overload, and the emergence of large-scale slums during China's rapid industrialization and urbanization phases. Shahid Yusuf, a Senior Adviser in the World Bank’s Development Research Group noted that the hukou system served as a "cornerstone of China's urbanization strategy" by controlling migration and channeling migrants toward small or medium-sized cities rather than allowing unchecked inflows to the largest urban areas."

this sounds...good?

[+] drmoose@lemmy.world -6 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

how come other countries don't need this insane oppression? Also did you finish the actual wiki page?

During the Great Chinese Famine from 1958 to 1962, having an urban versus a rural hukou could mean the difference between life and death.[33] During this period, nearly all of the approximately 600 million rural hukou residents were collectivized into village communal farms, where their agricultural output—after state taxes—would be their only source of food. With institutionalized exaggeration of output figures by local Communist leaders and massive declines in production, state taxes during those years confiscated nearly all food in many rural communes, leading to mass starvation and the deaths of more than 65 million Chinese people.[34]

The 100 million urban hukou residents, however, were fed by fixed food rations established by the central government, which declined to an average of 1500 calories per day at times but still allowed survival for almost all during the famine. An estimated 95% or higher of all deaths occurred among rural hukou holders. With the suppression of news internally, many city residents were not aware that mass deaths were occurring in the countryside at all. This was essential to preventing organized opposition to Mao's policies.[35]

The bootlicking is crazy here.

[–] KimBongUn420@lemmy.ml 12 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

how come other countries don’t need this insane oppression?

They do. e.g Moving in the United States is quite expensive. While it's not restricted by law, it's restricted by class.

Home ownership in socialist States like in China is way higher than in the capitalist ones as well

[–] zedcell@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 2 weeks ago

Those citations from that page come back to a book written by Jasper Becker, a right-wing journalist expelled from Hong Kong in the 90s and who became a Tory Councillor in the 2010s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hungry_Ghosts:_Mao%27s_Secret_Famine

His book plays fast and loose with statistics, and the margins of error are huge - somewhere between 15 and 55 million people died in the famine but this citation seemingly suggests 65 million died, above that even cited in the books Wikipedia article. Reading the citations in the book's article leads you to a number of American (and American Chinese) authored articles that all pluck various numbers from this vast range.

Even a cursory amount of research and poking around links those various citations led to makes the presented state of affairs that seemed so ironclad and clear cut almost melt into meaningless. What else can be expected from anti-communist hit pieces so readily shared by idiots hoping to spread atrocity propaganda.

[–] Echolynx@lemmy.zip 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

A family register? Japan also does that.

[–] drmoose@lemmy.world -1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (2 children)

it's not just a register. As Chinese you literally need a permission to relocate otherwise you are essentially a 2nd class citizen and cannot use public services like hospitals or schools or as in the OP's meme "buy a house".

It's almost impossible to get Hukou approved to economically rich zones like Shenzhen so basically it's not even a unified country in that sense as if you're born in a shit-middle-of-nowhere village you are literally stuck there as an economic slave unless you find a way to game Hukou or just ignore it and remain a 2nd tier citizen with significantly reduced rights.

I'm speaking from experience as there are legit top tier developers stuck in nowhere china because they just can't move to Shenzhen unless they find an powerful employer to bribe the system and if you are neurotypical or disabled you are completely fucked. Guess what they do with all that talent and no legal means to capitalize on it?

Even European Union which is a collection of many completely different countries has more rights in citizen migration. isn't that crazy?

[–] zedcell@lemmygrad.ml 7 points 2 weeks ago

And when the EU kills thousands and thousands of people in the Mediterranean for trying to enter, that's just the cost of doing business I suppose. Dinghys full of people that EU coast guards could rescue but don't, for fear of the influx of refugees and immigrants into the EU. Left to die, drowning in the sea.

But China is evil because it controls the internal movement of its 1.4 billion population?

Tell me again the population of the EU. Of the population of the USA.

China is a developing country, it has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty by its policy decisions. It put an end to the famines that you attribute to malice as opposed to the costs of decades of civil war and invasion by fascist forces.

[–] Echolynx@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 weeks ago

Fair point, thanks for clarifying the restrictions.