Special Coverage: Chinese bristling at census

Chinese bristling at census

When census taker Wang Xinwei knocks on doors as part of her job, many Chinese, rather than foreigners, will refuse to even speak to her.

"I'm surprised that it's the Chinese who are not very cooperative," said the 21-year-old community worker who has been assigned a neighborhood in downtown Beijing.

"Some Chinese residents in the neighborhood would rather do the census at registration centers than letting us come into their houses."

Wang is one of 6 million census takers nationwide who are helping register residents' information for the sixth national population census.
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Tally may nail down vacancies rumors of empty homes

The upcoming national population census will help provide some information about empty flats in China, a senior official said, amid mounting complaints the government has failed to give a clear picture of vacant homes.

Ma Jiantang, chief of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said recently that though opinions differ on the definition of vacant homes and some residents may not be willing to reveal personal details, the government will still try to get more information on vacant houses through the census.

In an interview with China Daily last week, Xing Zhihong, deputy director of Beijing's population census unit, said the census has some questions related to housing, but it cannot provide an accurate vacancy rate.

"The population census aims at checking people's registrations and living conditions," Xing said.

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Checking what has changed

When Zhang Yanhua was asked whether she would again volunteer to be a census taker, she immediately said yes.

And this is despite the fact that 20 years ago, Zhang had experienced how arduous the job was.

Now, two decades on, the 51-year-old Zhang said she wanted to do it again - not only to do something good for the nation, but to have an opportunity to tour one of Beijing's oldest neighborhood that "probably may give its way to highrises one day".

Zhang has since Aug 15 been part of a huge team working on a preliminary population survey in Beijing, interviewing residents in the Shijia neighborhood.

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A population survey that's more than just a head count

China's forthcoming census will be of great significance to the nation's development.

Its huge population - the largest in the world - has always been one of the major issues the Chinese authorities face to achieve a comprehensive, coordinated and sustainable social development.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the country has carried out five national census. Over that period, China has gone through various social changes and the latest census will be of great significance to the country's development. 

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