More than 32,000 non-Communist Party members are holding government positions at or above county chief-level, or its equivalent in higher administrations, according to a recent report.

The report, published by the Central Party School in Beijing, described how the Communist Party of China (CPC) picked promising candidates for government office from outside its own ranks and groomed them.

It noted the CPC Department of United Front had formulated a complete scheme for selecting, training and appointing non-CPC members to important government positions.

There are currently 170,000 non-CPC deputies serving on People's Congresses at all levels throughout the country and over 330,000 in the local and national halls of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).

As for government officials, 19 of the central government's ministerial positions are now held by non-CPC members, while three non-CPC members have been appointed deans of universities where the deans and CPC secretaries are appointed by the central government rather than local governments.

Progress in promoting more non-CPC members to government positions at or above county chief-level than ever before was attributed to a series of directives and suggestions from the CPC Central Committee in recent years requiring local governments and their CPC committees to tap human resources outside their comfort zones, the report said.

The most important document in this respect, the report said, is a directive issued in 2005, which makes it clear that "putting State and government offices in the hands of non-CPC members and non-politically affiliated people is an important part of efforts by the CPC to fortify its leadership in a multi-party cooperation setting."

Requirements

This key decision required all local governments at or above county level to place non-CPC members and non-politically affiliated people in the top jobs even mayor, if a qualified candidate was available.

And it did not leave out higher levels of government, including the State Council. The directive demands that the country's highest administrative branch pay particular attention to appointing non-CPC members and non-politically affiliated candidates to ministerial positions or their equivalents with bodies such as state commissions and bureaus.

The CPC Central Committee suggested specific measures to local governments for implementing the personnel "outsourcing" scheme through the directive and updates. For example, it told authorities at all levels of government to make it a permanent task with a workable process.

(China Daily January 13, 2007)