Interesting development. However, it's probably going to cause some serious problems. Chinese cities are already overcrowding, and allowing greater freedom of movement is only going to make it worse. Not that this should matter - people have a right to live where they need to in order to find work.
China rethinks peasant 'apartheid'
By Tim Luard
Plans to end a controversial residency permit system have been welcomed as a positive step towards bridging the social, political and economic gulf between China's countryside and its cities.
The hukou system of household registration has for decades discriminated against the nation's 800 million rural inhabitants, by depriving them of most of the rights enjoyed by those born in urban areas.
The proposed abolition of the system in 11 of China's 23 provinces, mainly along the developed eastern coast, is expected to promote further growth by encouraging a new influx of labour from poorer western regions.
The government also hopes the reforms will help provide stability at a time of simmering protests over the ever-widening wealth gap.
Good for China. Let's just hope they can follow through.
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