Now, 25 years after the country launched its reform and opening-up drives, a law on household registration is being drafted in China to ensure people to move and settle freely .

The Ministry of Public Security is working on the draft, according to the General Office of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), China's top legislature.

The new law, which has been pushed for by the public, the media and NPC deputies, is expected to replace existing rules on residence registration adopted by the NPC Standing Committee in 1958.

The outdated mode of household registration can no longer meet the demands of a swiftly-changing society, where rural residents move into cities in large numbers and small towns spring up across the country. So it is not surprising that a reformed system of household registration seems imminent.

For the past several decades, urbanites and villagers in China have been treated very differently in almost all aspects of life, ranging from medical care and education to job opportunities. It has been very difficult for rural residents to settle in cities and for their children to enjoy the kind of schooling city children take for granted.

Transients, especially those from the countryside, have become one of the most vulnerable groups in the country. Children from transient families account for a major part of the school dropouts in cities.

In recent years, people from different segments of society have been pushing hard to abolish the old residence registration system and to replace it with a law that secures people's right to free movement and settlement.

During the First Session of the 10th NPC, 34 deputies tabled a joint proposal on the drafting of the law. Meanwhile, a series of media reports on the maltreatment of transients in some cities had aroused the attention of the central leadership, giving a strong boost to the issue.

In fact, the State Council, the nation's cabinet, has issued a series of documents on improving the residence registration system. In some provinces, local governments have given farmers and urbanites the same treatment in residency registration.

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