A Clearer Picture of Foreigners Working and Living in the Mainland

Figures of the China's latest census released by National Bureau of Statistics show that about one million people from Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and foreign countries are working and living in the Chinese mainland. Demographers argue that to include these groups of people in the national population census is of great significance.

Our reporter Weitong has more.

Almost 600,000 foreign nationals were living on the Chinese mainland at the end of last year, with the most coming from South Korea, the United States and Japan.

Foreigners on the Chinese mainland were surveyed for the first time in the once-in-a-decade census. But those on short-term business or sight-seeing trips were not covered.

Huang Rongqing, demographer with Capital University of Economics and Business, says that to include those who are not from the Chinese mainland is along with international standards, as China is increasingly globalized.

"I believe it'll help policymakers to refine management policies if they know the exact number of these people working and living in the mainland. As China's economy surges ahead, it can arguably be believed more foreigners will swarm into the mainland looking for opportunities. Accordingly, related management policies need to improve."

About 230,000 people from Hong Kong, 20,000 from Macau, and 170,000 from Taiwan were accounted for in last year's census. The census results show that employment, study and settlement are the three major reasons for them to flood into the mainland.

For CRI, I'm Weitong.