Hukou conversion today The Floating Population Dynamic Monitoring Surveys, which have been conducted every year since 2010 by the National Health and Family Planning Commission, have reported that a significant number of migrant workers are in fact not interested in converting their hukou status. While hukou policy reform has been gradual over the years, barriers to conversion have been lowered. However, many rural residents are hesitant to give up their agricultural hukou status. As rural hukou holders, they have property rights not afforded to their urban counterparts, which allow them to use land both for agricultural production and for personal use. And with the steady expansion of cities, property values of land near cities have significantly increased. Owners of these tracts of land may elect to give up agriculture in favor of renting out their homes to migrant workers. Furthermore, with the continued process of urbanization, land owners near cities can expect the central government to buy their land for a handsome sum sometime in the future. These benefits combined with the overall improvement in rural social welfare relative to that in cities have caused many rural residents to hesitate in converting their hukou status. Special administrative regions of China Hukou is not employed in the special administrative regions of China (Hong Kong and Macau) though identification cards are mandatory for residents there. Instead, both SARs grant right of abode to certain persons who are allowed to reside permanently in the regions. When a person with household registration in mainland China is settling in Hong Kong or Macau by means of a One-way Permit, they must relinquish their household registration, therefore losing citizen rights in mainland China. However, they can settle in the SARs for seven years to be eligible for permanent resident status (which is associated with citizen rights) in the SARs. Therefore, in the period before they get permanent resident status, though still a Chinese citizen, they cannot exercise citizen rights anywhere (like voting in elections, getting a passport) and are considered second-class citizens. Cross-strait relations The People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) each claim the territories under the other's control as part of their respective state. Thus, legally, each treats the people on the other side's territory as their citizens. However, citizenship rights are only available to the people under their own control respectively - this is defined by law as