Academic warns modernisation of city could be delayed by five years or more
Shenzhen's population growth risks running out of control and threatens to delay the city's modernisation by at least five years, a population expert has said.
Yang Lixun of the Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences told a forum at the weekend that the problem was caused by a large influx of migrants, most with little education, arriving from other parts of the country.
'This fast population growth will delay Shenzhen's aim of achieving modernisation for another five years,' Professor Yang was quoted by the Southern Metropolis News as saying.
Shenzhen officials had originally expected to achieve modernisation by next year. Modernisation is defined by some economists as the attainment of economic development and living standards comparable to those of developed countries.
The city has a registered population of 4 million, but the actual population is believed to be close to 10 million after migrant workers are taken into account.
Hong Wangquan , director of the Shenzhen Family Planning Bureau, said that the city had the mainland's largest population of migrant workers. The 2000/2001 census showed as many as 6.7 million - or 83.45 per cent - of Shenzhen's population were temporary residents.
