Henan Road Collapse Shows Hukou Discrimination

The collapse of a suspended highway in China's central Henan province last Friday killed at least 10 people and injured 11.

The families of the victims who died were offered compensation. But not everyone was offered the same amount. And it's because of China's household registration system, or "hukou."

[Li Heping, Beijing Lawyer]:
"This is a problem that exists in China, life isn't valued equally. Even in one family, some could have urban hukou, another could have rural hukou, and they would be compensated differently. This is very unfair.

The Henan Business Daily reports that victims with an urban hukou would be paid about $64,000 in compensation. Rural residents, less than half that.

And, the amount of compensation didn't just depend on where the victim was from.

One family member of a deceased said they initially turned down an offer on February 2nd because it was too little. The next day, authorities, in a rush to finalize the compensation, said they would receive an extra 50,000 yuan if they signed before noon. That's a bonus of $8,000 US dollars.

[Mr. Zhang, Henan Resident]:
"In public incidents, the government always tries to smooth things over, to stop it from spreading. It's scared that victims will unite and demand justice. So they isolate the victims."

Chinese citizens have been raising the cry for reform of hukou, which has increased class separation in China. The government has released reports of their intentions to reform the system. So far though, actual changes have been rare and gradual; too late and too late for those asking for reform.

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