As Guangzhou this southern metropolis is rapidly approaching its upper limit of 15 million population fuelled by the influx of migrant workers, the public is divided on whether to limit the inflow of these workers.

The city's present population stands at 12 million and the migrant population exceeds 5 million.

At a recent forum on what the authorities should do to deal with the expanding population, many citizens suggested the municipal authorities do more to limit the influx of migrant workers so as to improve the social security situation and ease the pressure it puts on city facilities.

Guo Peilin is among those with such views.

"My purse has been stolen 12 times, and I've had my necklace snatched once since I settled in Guangzhou in the early 1990s," Guo said.

Official statistics show that of the 100,000 crimes reported every year during the past five years, about 85 percent of the suspects are migrants.

"Many big cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, have set limits on the migrant population and their public security is much better," Guo said.

She suggested that only those with jobs should be allowed to settle in Guangzhou.

Peng Peng, director of the Guangzhou Academy of Social Sciences, however, does not agree with limiting the influx of migrant workers,

"It will not make any sense at all," he said. "Guangzhou needs multiple levels of human resources and the demand for migrant workers is enormous.

"What the government really should do is strengthen efforts to better manage the migrant population instead of simply shutting all doors to them," Peng said.

Peng's views are supported by Li Junrong, a human resources manager of Guangzhou Huanan Information System Integration.

"Guangzhou is in great need of migrant workers. Any action to set limits will worsen the situation.

"Migrant workers do jobs that local citizens are unwilling to do," Li said.

However, during the city's annual people's congress held at the end of 2006, officials from the municipal government said they were studying the possibility of capping the influx of the migrant population.

"The municipal government is considering putting a limit on industries that need to hire migrant workers, and the city will take more measures to deal with public security problems relating to migrants by promoting a free registry system," said Zhang Guangning, mayor of Guangzhou.

(China Daily March 7, 2007)