Research on the Adjustments of Population Migration Policies in Guangzhou Province Since the Reform and Opening Period

Abstract

An analytical review of the changes and adjustments made to migration policies in Guangdong province in the three decades since reform and opening up uses the region's economic development as its main thread and social policy combined with economic changes as its analytical perspective. The thirty-year period divides into three stages reflecting the main phases of Guangdong province's regional economic development. Policies in the three stages evolve from control and guidance of random migrations, through attempts at orderly management of migrant populations, to overall planning of migrant population management. The policy adjustments have affected the relationship between migrants and the general public in the places of migration, as illustrated by changing portrayals of migrants in the Guangzhou Daily. Guangdong is a forerunner in China's reform and opening up, and the adjustments in Guangdong's population policies offer useful reference points for other Chinese regions.