Passengers at Hankou Railway Station in Wuhan during Spring Festival. (Photo : Reuters)
While the upcoming Spring Festival is a pleasant time for many, including the Chinese diaspora in the societies of developed countries, the annual occasion is of immense importance to China's multitude of migrant workers who can cherish an experience that many of us take for granted.
During a period when those interested in the Chinese zodiac are merely anticipating the events of the new year, China's migrant workforce is preparing to travel significant distances to see loved ones that eagerly await a reunion that has been on their minds over the last year.
Friday's China Daily editorial explained the value of the season for migrant workers:
"Spring Festival is the only opportunity for a family reunion after a long year's hard work. For them, the joy of joining loved ones at the most important holiday of the year is always mixed with the hopelessness about the long separation they suffer one year after another."
The editorial then explains the major advantages that will result from granting migrant workers permanent residency status in the locations where they are employed. Not only would it alleviate the pressure on the national transport system, which is heavily overburdened during the Spring Festival period, but the editorial classifies it as a "moral obligation" that is yet to be realized.
Apparently, Beijing has repeatedly voiced its support for the integration of migrant workers, and action during the current time frame makes political sense.
Earlier this year, President Xi Jinping sat with some of the displaced residents of the Yunnan Province, who had suffered the impact of a devastating earthquake, and assured them that not only would their homes be rebuilt, but they would be built stronger than before.
His sentiment formed part of a commitment to modernization that Beijing thinks it only has another five or six years to implement, and China's leader is adamant about an increase in the quality of life for all of the 1.4 billion people across his expansive country.
The integration of China's migrant workforce is a suitable fit in President Xi's modernization plan.
