Radio Free Asia carried an article that reported on the recent comments of an official from the Ministry of Civil Affairs regarding how peasant workers treat their children back home. He pointed out that, because many have not fulfilled their responsibility as parents, thereby causing serious mental and physical harm to their children, they should be subject to legal action. The article also stated that the troubled environment that these left-behind children are living in is a direct result of the “hukou” system or residential policy China has adopted which separates the rural from the urban regions.
The article quoted an interview with a Chinese scholar who stated that the issues that the left-behind children and peasant workers face are complicated social issues and hard to resolve. According to the article, in a number of reported cases, left-behind children have been found dead or sexually abused. The article reported that China announced in December that it will issue urban residential identification cards to peasant workers as long as they can show proof that they are working, attending school, or have owned housing for over six month in the region in which they are applying. This means that the peasant workers will be entitled to medical and education benefits in these areas.
Source: Radio Free Asia, February 19, 2016
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/yataibaodao/shehui/nu-02192016110750.html