Newly enrolled civil servants in Shanghai didn't go into government offices on the first day of their work Thursday, but were sent to 359 township- or street-level service positions for one-year internships.

Some 1,700 new civil servants found their posts in community service, reception for complaint visits or letters, changed address registration, law enforcement supervision in village or street committees.

From this year, all newly civil servants in the eastern metropolis will have undergo a one-year internship at grassroots units, according to the municipal government.

Deputy secretary of the Shanghai Committee of Communist Party of China Wang Anshun told the new civil servants that as Shanghai is encountering strategic opportunities for urban development, there are many emerging social problems which demand a more capable government.

He hoped the new internships would reinforce the civil servants' awareness of working in the people's interest.

The municipal government of Shanghai has enrolled nearly 2,000 civil servants a year over the last few years, and two-thirds of them are fresh graduates of universities and colleges without any work experience.

(Xinhua News Agency August 26, 2005)