Pun Ngai - Migrant Labor in China

China Today series

1. Greg Austin, Cyber Policy in China
2. Steven M. Goldstein, China and Taiwan
3. David S. G. Goodman, Class in Contemporary China
4. Stuart Harris, China's Foreign Policy
5. Elaine Jeffreys with Haiqing Yu, Sex in China
6. Michael Keane, Creative Industries in China
7. Joe C. B. Leung and Yuebin Xu, China's Social Welfare
8. Hongmei Li, Advertising and Consumer Culture in China
9. Orna Naftali, Children in China
10. Pitman B. Potter, China's Legal System
11. Pun Ngai, Migrant Labor in China
12. Xuefei Ren, Urban China
13. Judith Shapiro, China's Environmental Challenges 2nd edition
14. Alvin Y. So and Yin-wah Chu, The Global Rise of China
15. Teresa Wright, Party and State in Post-Mao China
16. You Ji, China's Military Transformation
17. LiAnne Yu, Consumption in China
18. Xiaowei Zang, Ethnicity in China

Copyright Pun Ngai 2016

The right of Pun Ngai to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

First published in 2016 by Polity Press

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All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-7174-1

ISBN-13: 978-0-7456-7175-8(pb)

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Pun, Ngai, 1970

Migrant labor in China : post-socialist transformation / Pun Ngai.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7456-7174-1 (hardback) ISBN 978-0-7456-7175-8 (pbk.) 1. Migrant laborChina. 2. Labor marketChina. 3. Manpower policyChina. 4. Rural-urban migrationChina. 5. ChinaEconomic conditions2000- 6. ChinaEconomic policy2000- I. Title.

HD5856.C5P864 2016

331.5440951dc23

2015032717

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Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clay ltd, St Ives PLC

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This book would not have been possible without the Chinese migrant workers who have been actively involved in many of the research projects. I am grateful for the trust and confidence of Chinese migrant workers who have shared their experiences, stories, and struggles not only with me, but also my colleagues and students. Many of the research projects were carried out with an enthusiastic team of colleagues and students. Lu Huilin, Guo Yuhua, and Shen Yuan are the most important collaborators who participated in the joint research projects over the past five years. Without their unfailing support, it would have been impossible to carry out most of the research projects.

I cannot imagine that I would have had enough courage to complete these years-long studies without the joys and tears shared with my students and colleagues, especially Zhang Huipeng, Li Dajun, Liang Zicun, Su Yihui, Fan Lulu, Li Changjiang, Tang Weifeng, Jin Shuheng, Deng Yunxue, Chen Hangying, Liu Ya, Wu Xiongwenqian, Anita Koo, Jack Qiu, Yan Hairong, Ben Ku, and many others.