QUESTION:
What percentage of Beijing's
residents are part of the floating population--the
population that moves in or out of the Beijing
limits each year?
a) 1/3
b) 1/5
c) 1/10
d) 1/20
e) 250%
ANSWERS:
a) Not yet, maybe after the
public transportation improves.
b) Bu dui. No, but 1/5 of the
people get this question as wrong as you.
c) Correct. Of the 13 million
people in the Beijing municipality, one million
are in the category of floating population.
This does not include the swarms of Wai Di
Ren (outsiders) that head home for the many
important holidays. Most of the floating population
is migrant workers and students. Many workers
come to Beijing to find prosperity, however
after failing to obtain a Hu Kou (Permanent
residence permit) they saunter back from whence
they came. Despite of a notable deficit of
females in the past, Beijing is slowly equalizing
its population in respect to gender. The male
to female ratio is now about 53 to 47%.
*Reality Check: The current
death rates in Beijing are relatively lower
than that in other regions of China. The crude
death rate (CDR) is about 6 per 1,000 people,
per year in Beijing. The death rate of males
is higher than that of females and that of
laborers is higher than white-collar workers.
d) Think again, this time try
using more than 1/20th of your brain. 250
(pronounced "er-bai-wu"), means
"foolish," which is what you are if you chose
this answer.
