Authorities in Dongguan city of Guangdong province have proposed raising house rental costs to encourage migrant workers in the city to return to their hometowns and start their own business. The move has sparked lots of discussion.
Let's take a look at what the Chinese media had to say.

A commentary in China Youth Daily says if the city wants to change the structure of the population, it shouldn't do so via administrative orders but by improving the economy.

Dongguan is known as an industrial city with a large migrant population. However, its demography is not a hurdle in modernizing and developing the city.

The commentary continues to say that a rise in rentals will not prevent migrant workers from pouring into the city because they will still find ways to minimize living costs. It suggests that businesses pay their workers higher salaries to help them cope with rising living costs. As a result, industries in the city will undergo a corresponding change in the way they operate.

An opinion carried by the Beijing News considers the proposal discriminatory. The large number of migrant workers in Dongguan is a result of mutual need. Local enterprises need migrant workers. They will automatically leave the city when local labor markets can meet the industry's demand.