3. Government’s Understanding of Social Inclusion

This chapter begins with an examination on the shift of policy focus on urban village redevelopment. It then explores how the notion of social inclusion is understood by the local government in Xi’an and its implications on citizenship as membership, as rights, and as the process of right extension. The official interpretation of social inclusion is influenced by a Chinese version of citizenship, which focuses on hukou system, puts socioeconomic inclusion at priority, and deeply resonates with the Chinese traditional ideology. This chapter argues that the redevelopment policy actually implied a trade-off by which villagers were made to compromise on property rights in exchange for social rights.