The Bottom of the Heart of the Property Builder: Evidence from Online Messages of Chinese Rural Migrant Workers

This article collects nearly 20,000 migrant workers' posts from the People's Daily Online Leaders' Message Board (difang lingdao liuyanban) between 2011 and 2019 using web crawler technology. Through the methods of word segmentation and word frequency statistics, this article analyzes the claims of migrant workers in the process of social integration. The results of word frequency statistics show that migrant workers' claims are ranked as follows: salary, labor rights, housing, children's education, social security, returning home to start a business, and hukou (household registration system). Among them, the claims regarding salary are the most urgent. From the regional perspective, migrant workers in the west publish the largest number of posts, followed by migrant workers in the east and in the center. This article argues that, in accordance with these claims, the government formulates corresponding public policies to help migrant workers achieve the triple conversion of occupation, life, and identity from being farmers to becoming urban citizens, which is of great significance for allowing migrant workers to better integrate into urban life and improve their living standards. Based on the analysis, this article puts forward corresponding public policy recommendations.