Foreign faces would brighten Chinese government
- Source: Global Times
- [21:21 February 01 2010]
- Comments
By Ryan Ulrich
Have you ever thought of a laowai being appointed to government office in China? Would it even be possible?
Currently, foreigners in China cannot work in the civil service. The law states that civil servants, or the gongwuyuan, must be Chinese citizens.
A public servant, no matter which country they work in, ideally serves the public good. Does it make a difference if that person's nationality is not of the country that they are working for?
Several states have foreign nationals who directly work for the government they live under and many more countries have naturalized citizens who are public servants.
The South Korean government, for instance, sponsored a program in 2007 where foreigners can serve in a special division which is the equivalent of the "street committee" in China. One Italian and one Canadian were selected to serve a two-year post.
In Japan, local level civil service positions are open to foreign nationals. Several citizens have taken advantage of the opportunity, especially those of Korean decent. Higher ranks in the government do have a nationality requirement for service, however.
If many other countries allow foreign nationals and naturalized citizens to serve the public, perhaps it could be something to try in a few cities in China as well. To me, Shanghai seems to be a perfect place to attempt this experiment.
According to wikipedia, Shanghai had 133,340 foreigners in residence in 2007. With this many foreigners, wouldn't it make sense to at least have a part of the administration, for instance a special representative of the Shanghai government, who is a foreigner?
If a foreign national or a naturalized citizen served in Shanghai, it could be very helpful for the expat community as well as the Chinese government. Even if there are security issues about the foreigners working in the government, the ability of expats to be represented in the place where they live and the valuable suggestions they could give to the Chinese government outweigh the risks.
Foreigners do not have to serve in sensitive areas and could go through a background check, much like citizens of foreign descent have to when working in certain positions in the US government.
If the foreign community knew that an expat could be appointed to office in Shanghai, it might feel more connected to the city. Too often foreigners seem to feel a sense of "us" and "them" when talking about the Chinese, whether in the government or otherwise.
Especially at the district level or lower, the actions of the Chinese government have a much greater impact on the daily lives of expats than their home governments do. Why not let them participate at some level so that they could feel part of the community?
Foreigners could be especially useful in assisting with administrative issues related to expats. Someone who worked for the Chinese government and was interacting with foreigners either in the public security, the visa office or the foreign trade and investment department could make transactions much smoother and more efficient, building trust among short-term residents and the Chinese government.
Foreigners could also offer a level of expertise that could be very useful to the Chinese administration. The language skills, business experience and legal advice brought by foreigners could save the Chinese government a lot of time and money.
In Shanghai there is already quite extensive cooperation between foreign enterprises and the Chinese government.
For example, the Shanghai Mayor's Office maintains the International Business Leaders Advisory Council (IBLAC), a committee of prominent business leaders who meet with the mayor on an annual basis to consult on business issues.
This is just one example of the extensive "foreign expert" collaboration that occurs at many levels of government across China. Making these kinds of institutions, or particular individuals, part of the government seems like a good idea to me.
So, why not have a few seats at the civil service exams in special departments open for foreigners? True, it is a hard test, but that would be the first measure of a good foreign-born Chinese civil servant, if they can hold their own against all the other Chinese taking the exam.
Which laowai is up for the challenge?
The author is a MA candidate at the Johns Hopkins-Nanjing University Center for Chinese and American Studies. globaltimesopinion@yahoo.com
