Peking University, Beijing, May 19, 2010: On May 14, the opening lecture of Government Innovation Forum was jointly held by the PKU Center for Chinese Government Innovations and the PKU Association for Government Innovation in Peking University.

Prof. Yu Keping

The lecturer was Prof. Yu Keping, Vice Director of Compilation and Translation Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the PKU Center for Chinese Government Innovations. The guest commentator was Prof. Yan Jirong from the School of Government. He is also the Vice Director of the Institute of Political Development and Governance of Peking University. Prof. He Zengke, Director of Contemporary Institute of Compilation and Translation Bureau and Executive Director of China Center for Comparative Politics and Economics of the Compilation and Translation Bureau, Prof. Gao Xinjun, Researcher of the China Center for Comparative Politics and Economics of the Compilation and Translation Bureau, and Prof. Rao Jinxing, Vice Director of the PKU Center for Chinese Government Innovations and Director of Beijing HuaXia Center for Economic and Social Development Research also attended the lecture.

Prof. He Zengke first delivered a speech to introduce the PKU Center for Chinese Government Innovations and the PKU Association for Government Innovation in Peking University.

Later, Prof. Yu Keping presented us with his latest research results: New Immigrants Movement and Government Institutional Changes. He further displayed the relationship between the two from five perspectives. Firstly, he introduced the Chinese New Immigrants Movement since the 1978 "Reform and Opening-up". He made a comparison between the immigrants’ movements in history and the New Immigrants Movement, and briefly summarized the characteristics of the New Immigrants. Secondly, he elaborated on the relations between the New Immigrants Movement and Modernization, Marketization, Industrialization and Globalization. He made a detailed analysis of both superficial and underlying reasons of migrant workers pouring into cities. He also touched on the transition of citizenship in the New Immigrants Movement. In his point of view, the inequality of migrant workers' citizenship further leads to the inequality of enjoying their rights: rights of residence and employment, social welfare, their children’s right to education etc.

"The fundamental way to safeguard the new immigrants' civil rights is to reconstruct their citizenship. Therefore, the government should drastically reform the traditional social management system," Prof. Yu said. Later, he particularly analyzed the New Immigrants Movement and the Institutional Changes. He brought forward that the New Immigrants Movement is urging us to reform the Household Registration System, the Employment Unit System, the Community System, the Social Security system, the Electoral system, and the Labor Union System. He also emphasized that the equality of new immigrants' civil rights firstly requires the equality of their citizenship. Only through the realization of the agricultural population’s citizenship can the equality of their rights be reached.

Prof. Yan Jirong

Prof. Yan Jirong commented on the lecture. He gave a comprehensive analysis of the lecture from the respects of dual economic structure, the economics of the poor, "demographic dividend" etc. Also, he spoke highly of Prof. Yu's lecture. Furthermore, he came up with a new suggestion that the government can increase investment in rural areas from the perspective of the governmental public functions to achieve the equality of public resource and thus reach the goal of the equality of "civil rights".

In the Q&A session, the students took the floor one after another. Prof. Yu and Prof. Yan shared their experience and views on the questions raised by the students: the process of governmental policy making and policy implementation, rural land institutional changes, social management, household registry reform, how to reach education equality, the role of democracy in the New Immigrants Reform etc.

At last, the first president of the PKU Association for Government Innovation presented a gift to Prof. Yu to express their gratitude.

Supplementary reading:

A brief introduction to Government Innovation Forum

The Government Innovation Forum is jointly held by the PKU Center for Chinese Government Innovations and the PKU Association for Government Innovation in Peking University. Renowned scholars in the field of government innovation and outstanding officers from both home and abroad are invited to give lectures in Peking University. The forum is intended to set up an interactive platform for the academia, the government and universities and to give the local governmental innovators a stage with the extensive influence of Peking University. Also, the forum is beneficial for the scholars, students and faculty, and the masses to know more about local government reforms and innovations, and to discuss governmental innovations that are in accordance with China’s domestic situations and global development.

Edited by: Seren
Translated by: Chen Wei
Source: PKU News (Chinese)