New policies concerning people's daily lives and welfare will be trialed in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, senior officials revealed at a press conference during the annual meeting of the Guangdong Provincial People's Congress on Sunday.

The policies include the abolition of the fee parents need to pay in choosing a school, the launch of residency permits for migrants, the establishment of a new public welfare hospital, and reform of the pension system.

With parents nationwide having to pay a high fee to get their children into better schools, Guangdong's education chief Luo Weiqi suggested that Shenzhen could pilot its abolition.

As Shenzhen has invested a lot in education and has a comparatively well-developed system, the official proposed the city abolish the fee when ample school places can be offered. "If Shenzhen makes the decision, the provincial education department will immediately endorse it," he said.

Shenzhen will also pioneer trial residency permits among migrants, according to Zhu Suisheng, vice public security chief of Guangdong.

"The move is an effort to phase out the hukou (registered permanent residency) system, which is unfair and restricts the free flow of labor. Hopefully, residency permits will help migrants living and working in the city get a 'citizen treatment' in education, medical care and other services by offering them de facto citizen status," Zhu said. He revealed that Shenzhen's public security bureau is researching the topic and will soon draft regulations.

Yao Zhibin, chief of the provincial health department, said Guangdong is considering launching welfare hospitals in well-developed cities like Shenzhen. The local government would shoulder the salaries of hospital staff and daily medical expenses, as the hospital would not be allowed to make the 15-percent profit from medicine procurement as other hospitals.

Shenzhen is also pioneering the reform of its pension system, Fang Chaogui, the province's labor and social security chief, said.

(Shenzhen Daily February 6, 2007)