Shenzhen, a booming city in south China's Guangdong Province, now boasts a population of 10 million under its jurisdiction, about 32 times that 25 years ago when it was designated as China's first special economic zone, or SEZ.

The figure includes 310,000 aborignals, who lived in the place before the Shenzhen SEZ was built; 1.65 million registered permanent residence; 4.32 million permanent residents and more than 6 million immigrants who make their livings as temporary workers or babysitters in the city.

The 1,953-square-kilometer region accommodates more than 10 million people, making Shenzhen the largest migrant city in China and indicating that high pressure on resources has translated into a severe bottleneck in economic development, said a city planner.

Though Shenzhen's decision makers are taking steps to control its total population, they have never regarded the large population as a burden in the city, because it is those who come from different parts of China that bring splendors to Shenzhen with their wisdom and sweat, said Li Hongzhong, secretary of Shenzhen city committee of the Communist Party of China.

"The dreams and wisdom of the migrants from every corner of the nation will bring the prosperity of Shenzhen," a local official said.

Shenzhen has, since 1992, promulgated 17 laws and regulations concerning the protection of the legitimate rights of more than five million migrant workers in the city.

Li said Shenzhen was the first city in China to bring migrant workers into the municipal social welfare system.

Every month, a migrant worker pay four yuan (49 cents) and his company pay eight yuan (98 cents) to the social medical insurance system, so that every worker can receive medical treatment when necessary.

The minimum salary of migrant workers should not be less than 690 yuan (US$85), said a regulation issued by the municipal government in 2005.

Besides, the government keeps asking for the defaulted payment for the migrant workers with unremitting efforts since 1997. About 237 million yuan (US$29.2 million) were retrieved for the workers during the past six months, the official said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 22, 2005)