According to a report carried by China Youth Daily on August 9 more than half (56%) of the general public endorsed the stratum classification conclusion reached by a topic research group at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) about the Chinese society and 64% of the public indicated that they have the will to move upwards in social strata.

According to the report the conclusion was the result of an online survey titled Which Stratum Do You Belong To In the Chinese Society? conducted by the social surveying center at the China Youth Daily on August 3, 2004. The survey lasted till 13:00 August 6. There were altogether 1,974 people taking part in the survey.

56% agree that China has ten major strata

Not long ago the Contemporary Chinese Social Strata Research Group at the CASS published a book titled Contemporary Social Mobility of China. In the book the Chinese society is classified into ten major strata. They are, in descending order,: state and social administrators, management personnel, private business owners, specialized technicians, clerks, self-employed industrialists and businessmen, personnel in commercial catering industry, industrial workers, agricultural laborers and urban jobless or unemployed and semi-unemployed persons.

The survey indicates that over half (56%) of the general public endorsed the conclusion about social classification and only 16% hold suspicious attitude toward the research conclusion.

Social resource allocation is closely linked to the level of social stratum

The survey indicates that 42% of the general public believe state and social administrators take a comparatively larger share of social resources. Second are private business owners (23%) and management personnel (21%). These three strata are respectively put in the first, third and second places in the social classification research conclusion and are among the top three groups in the society.

Meanwhile the survey discovered that in the eyes of the public other strata are in comparative disadvantageous positions in terms of social resources compared with the three strata. In answers to the question - Which strata do you think are in control of comparatively more social resource than others? - no other strata acquired a rate more than 5%.

In the survey respectively 27%, 27% and 18% of the public believe that urban and rural jobless or unemployed and semi-unemployed, agricultural laborers and industrial workers are among the groups who most need interest protection.

Most believe themselves to belong to the forth and fifth strata

Generally speaking, most people participating in the survey believe themselves to be specialized technicians, that is, the forth stratum; 23% believe themselves to be clerks, the group of people who have the fifth place in the ten-strata classification. None of the other eight strata had a rate more than 10%. Only 18% of the general public believe themselves to be in the upper social strata (state and social administrators, management personnel and private business owners).

64% wish to move upwards

Results of the survey show that 33% people wish to join the state and social management stratum. Twenty eight percent are willing to become a member of the private business owner group and another 21% yearn to become management personnel. In other words, 82% of the general public wish to become a member of the three social strata. Apart from this specialized technicians are also favored by the general public. Thirteen percent of the responders said they wish to ascend to the stratum of specialized technicians.

Compared with those 18% people who believe themselves to be among the upper social strata already, more (64%) indicate the wish to move upwards.
 
(People's Daily  August 10, 2004)