2010-04-27 06:59

BEIJING - Residents of 16 villages in Daxing district, Beijing, have to present their ID cards or temporary residence permits to get in and out of the villages, as the district tries to improve security in the suburban areas where a lot of migrant people live.

The district held a conference on Sunday to promote an enclosed village management system.

Boundary walls have been set up, surveillance cameras installed, immigrant workers registered and police regularly patrol the area for the first time in Beijing.

Daxing district started security trials in January in the 16 villages in Xihongmen township in January and spent 130 million yuan ($19 million) on enclosing the villages, Beijing Youth Daily reported on Monday. The district plans to expand the system to all villages before June.

Wang Yuxiang, a police officer stationed at Dabailou village, which is part of the plan, told China Daily on Monday the 16 villages are in remote areas, outside the Sixth Ring Road, and have more migrant workers than local hukou holders.

He said 80 percent of criminal cases in Daxing district take place in these rural areas, where migrant workers comprise 80 percent of the population.

Gao Changwen, a police officer at Laosayu village, another of the 16 villages, said more than 3,000 migrant workers live in the village and 1,400 have applied for entrance permits.

A security guard, surnamed Feng, at Dabailou village said the gate is open daily from 6 am to 11 pm and that a permit is required for every person and car seeking access to the village.

Many local residents support this policy for the village, which also has a 24-hour police patrol.

A man, surnamed Wang, in Dabailou village said: "I have been living here since I was born. This policy will surely help to improve the security situation."

Zhao Hongfeng, another resident who runs a tobacco store, said the policy has little impact on villagers because they all know the people at the checkpoint.

However, migrant residents expressed their dissatisfaction with the policy, with some saying they felt they were being discriminated against for being migrant workers.

Yang Yuqing, 41, who runs a small restaurant in Laosanyu village, said: "I come from Hubei and I have been here for 10 years. As this is my second hometown, the policy makes me feel like I am being discriminated against.

"Since the enclosure management started, business at my restaurant has also declined by 30 percent."

A peddler, surnamed Yao, said: "We are so dedicated to Beijing: we pay for the house we rent and pay for the land we cultivate, but what they are doing now makes me want to move to another village or return home."

In response to migrant workers' complaints about discrimination, a Xihongmen township government official, surnamed Yang, denied this was the case.

"We aim to improve the management of immigrant workers and public security," she said.

"We have no prejudice against them. Since March, the police have received 45 percent fewer reports of crime in this area and the streets are much cleaner."

China Daily

(China Daily 04/27/2010 page5)