Yongliancun, once a poor village in Zhangjiagang city, Jiangsu province, has been built into a modern neighborhood community. Wang Zirui / for China Daily

Evaluation system

On April 1, 2012, the Shenzhen municipal government issued an interim regulation that allowed migrant workers to obtain hukou via an evaluation system. Those who meet the basic requirements and have accumulated 100 points can apply through their employers or human resources agencies.

But the requirements and standards of evaluation are too demanding, said Zhang Xiaoshan, a senior researcher at the rural development institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

For example, to be eligible to apply, a migrant worker must be 18 to 48 years old and hold a diploma from a high school or secondary technical school. They must also have a city residence permit, as distinct from hukou, and be entitled to social security. The workers will receive three points for each annual payment of endowment insurance, but the total number of points each person can accumulate through insurance payments is limited to 30.

Zhang suggested that local governments could set their own thresholds for migrant workers to apply for hukou, and he also called on the central government to clarify the application standards and link the urban pensions and health insurance systems with those in rural areas.

Land ownership

"During the latest round of urbanization, the government should start with confirmation of land ownership," said Zhang.

Local governments, especially those at city and county level, had been eyeing rural land collectively owned by farmers' groups for many years. The governments took over a large amount of collectively owned agricultural land in the name of public interest, but later sold it to real estate developers at market rates. However, the farmers received only minimal compensation.

According to the current Land Administration Law, compensation for farmland requisition, plus resettlement subsidies, should not exceed 30 times the land's average annual output value during the three years before expropriation. That results in farmers receiving less than 100 yuan for each square meter of farmland, said Jiang Ming'an, professor at the Peking University Law School during an interview with Beijing Times in November. It's little wonder they have cause for complaint, he added.

Zhang from CASS, said: "Land-based financing is unsustainable, especially since people's awareness of land protection has risen. At this point, the government should think of a lasting, sustainable, win-win mechanism that will allow cooperation between the farmers and the government, rather than playing a one-shot game."

"In the future, the country should standardize the procedures for land expropriation and guarantee the farmers' bargaining rights during the transfer of the rights to collectively owned rural land," said Chi of the China Institute for Reform and Development.

"Farmers whose land has been expropriated should be compensated in accordance with the market value of their land," he said.

Contact the writer at jiangxueqing@chinadaily.com.cn.

Yang Wanli and Peng Yining contributed to this story.