Local governments do well to appoint the young

• Source: Global Times
• [01:27 February 24 2010]
• Comments

By Chen Chenchen

The appointment of someone of the post-1980s generation as a government official is constantly controversial. A stereotype occupies people's minds: These young people must be the sons or daughters of either the rich or the privileged.

Recently in Xintai, Shandong Province, six of the seven newly appointed deputy directors at local bureaus were born in the 1980s. Suspicions and slander soon broke out online.

One creative rumor was that Wang Ran, a 23-year-old girl among the seven new officials, was a local government leader's daughter-in-law. "That's ludicrous," said Wang in a recent interview with Xinhua's website. "I don't even have a boyfriend, and my parents are farmers." Liu Tingting, the 25-year-old new vice-president of the local people's court, also came from an ordinary family. Netizens' suspicions were wrong.

People probably need to spend a few minutes looking at these young officials' educational backgrounds and working experiences. Take Liu for instance. After graduating from the Law School of Shandong University in 2007, Liu was chosen by the Organization Department of Shandong Provincial CPC Committee to work as an assistant judge at a local court. She was honored as an "advanced individual" twice, and got an "A" during each annual performance assessment. It's unfair to neglect her efforts and postulate an underhanded reason for her appointment.

Many argue that even though these young candidates are outstanding, they are still unqualified for "high" positions like deputy chief of the local auditing bureau, construction bureau or State-owned property administration bureau. Nevertheless, putting these youth in important positions reflects local government's embarrassment at the difficulty of attracting and retaining talented people.

In this era when returning to one's hometown and serving there is seen as a shame, not an honor, small cities are in desperate need of young lead-ers, while metropolises are overloaded with first-rate human resources. Many youth would rather be tiny ants in a glitzy metropolis than join the privileged class in a small city. Moreover, the aging trend makes China's population structure more and more like an inverted pyramid, and talented young people are becoming a scarce resource. Grass-roots governments have to provide superb conditions to attract and retain competent youth.