Chapter 31 Chapter 29: Public Opinion Backlash for "Cadres Rejuvenation"

If power is not constrained by a rigid system, the passage of "grassroots elites" will be abnormally blocked by factors other than the system, which will directly threaten social harmony and stability. At the end of 2009, Li Yuanchao, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, secretary of the Secretariat of the Central Committee, and head of the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, pointed out that the rejuvenation of cadres is not "younger" , Cannot reduce the age of office. "The core and premise of the rejuvenation of cadres is to have both ability and integrity, and to put morality first." In an interview with reporters, Professor Wang Yukai, Secretary-General of the China Administrative System Reform Research Association and the National School of Administration, believed that "the rejuvenation of cadres is understood as age 'one size fits all' , is a misinterpretation of the central government’s principles and guidelines for employing personnel.”

In fact, after years of continuous exploration and development, the cadre rejuvenation policy has become an important part of the construction of cadres in our country.However, the reporter's investigation found that in some places, there are still some deviations in the implementation of the cadre rejuvenation policy, especially the issue of excessive rejuvenation of leading cadres, which has aroused strong public attention, and some are even accused of being promoted because of their background. However, every time the official responds passively, it does not completely dispel the public's doubts, and some of them make the truth more confusing.

A number of interviewed experts believe that public doubts about the promotion of some young cadres reflect the widespread "hatred of officials" mentality in reality. To some extent, it violates the principle of fairness in the distribution of public interests. In early February 2010, Xintai City, Shandong Province promoted 7 deputy bureau-level cadres, and 6 of the 7 were "post-80s".As soon as the news came out, public opinion was in an uproar, and the public questioned the family background of these young cadres. There are also similar incidents. In March 2008, 28-year-old Zhang Hui served as the deputy secretary of the Shandong Provincial Committee of the Communist Youth League and a member of the party group, becoming "the youngest official in China"; Deputy secretary of the Municipal Party Committee; in June 2009, 29-year-old Zhou Senfeng was unanimously elected mayor of Yicheng City, Hubei Province, etc.

Judging from previous reports, there are precedents for public doubts.According to reports, in 2009, in Gushi County, Henan Province, in a selection of county-level cadres and county bureau-level cadres, the 12 candidates for township chiefs were basically the children of local officials, and they were regarded as "children inheriting the father's career" in the officialdom. Unspoken rules sample.For another example, in early May 2008, in Benxi City, Liaoning Province, four candidates were selected for the Youth League Committee Secretary and Deputy Secretary, and the parents of three of them were the main leaders of the city.

Most of the public's doubts about the promotion of young cadres have no real evidence, but habitual guesswork.Therefore, they will try their best to "human flesh search" the family background, social relationship, educational background, etc. of these young cadres, hoping to verify their judgment by discovering clues. Due to the pressure of public opinion, the local officials will generally make a defensive response, but the content is almost the same-the procedure is transparent, the operation is fair, and the applicants are qualified.And the parties involved often adopt a silent attitude towards this, which arouses the public's "reasonable association".

Many interviewed experts believe that there are two reasons why the promotion of young cadres has repeatedly attracted public doubts: one is that such things are rare, and they are newsworthy and easy to attract attention; the other is that the cadre selection process is still not open and transparent enough However, the post-event explanations of the relevant departments are also vague, so the public often has various guesses about the promotion of young cadres, resulting in misjudgments. "At present, the competition for civil servants is fierce, and to stand out in the collective competition of civil servants requires strong strength and good opportunities." Dr. Hu Xianzhi, a researcher at the National School of Administration and deputy secretary-general of the National Policy Science Research Association, pointed out, " It is easy for a young man to assume a leadership position after only a few years, which is likely to arouse public suspicion. In addition, the existing cadre selection mechanism is not perfect and lacks sufficient transparency. curiosity."

The reporter's investigation found that the public's doubts about the promotion of young cadres are also related to the ecology of my country's officialdom in the past dynasties.In our country, seniority has always been emphasized in the officialdom. In the eyes of most people, if a person does not have enough officialdom experience or convincing level and ability, if a person has a successful official career at a very young age, there are only two possibilities, either " There are people in the DPRK", or there is a transaction of money and power. "In our country, the probability of leading children to become officials is still much higher than that of other classes." Professor Zhang Ming from the Department of Political Science at Renmin University of China believes that "there are still two traditions left over from the feudal era, the official standard and the family system, in society. It is easy to cast a shadow of privilege on the selection and promotion of cadres."

"In reality, it is true that the children of the rich and powerful can be promoted by virtue of their connections without experience at the grassroots level." Wang Yukai said, "This leads to the public's lack of trust in the government, which leads to rebellious psychology and resistance, and the phenomenon of buying and selling officials exists. , leading to public speculation about the promotion of young cadres." "If the competitive environment is fair and reasonable, I won't care about other people's family background." A young civil servant in a government agency directly under Beijing, who did not want to be named, admitted to the reporter, "The law does not stipulate that children, secretaries, relatives and friends of leaders cannot be officials. , as long as you rely on your ability, I think it is beyond reproach."

His views were quite representative among the interviewees.The public doubts about the promotion of young cadres is essentially an anxiety about the "internal welfare" of public power, and it is even more worried that "rejuvenation" will become a pass for some people to "clean up officials". In the opinion of many interviewed experts, if power is not constrained by a rigid system, the channel for the "grassroots elite" to rise will be abnormally blocked by factors other than the system. A crisis of confidence in the regime will seriously affect social harmony and stability.

"In some places, the selection of cadres is highly closed and exclusive; due to the penetration of unspoken rules of power, some people with real talents cannot be promoted normally, while some people are promoted irregularly by relying on conditions outside the system " Hu Xianzhi believes, "Relying on connections, backgrounds, nepotism and money, these are far away from the common people. In this way, some powerful elites among the common people will not be able to get suitable mobility and space for advancement. The consequence is that social classes Mobility will be more difficult, and it will also have a deterrent effect on civil servants without background, which will easily arouse hatred of officials in society."

"In the social atmosphere of the official position, those with privileges have the most resources." Zhang Ming believes, "After some people have been promoted to a certain level, they have the ability to influence the entry and selection of other cadres, and it is easy for their children, 'Insiders' such as secretaries, relatives and friends, should rise to a certain level as quickly as possible before they retire." The reporter's investigation found that it is not an isolated phenomenon that the rich and powerful occupy the rising space of "grassroots elites".Especially in some economically underdeveloped areas, due to the scarcity of official positions and the large number of competitors, the children of the local rich and powerful can often be selected to more important positions through various connections. "The right to equality is a basic human right of citizens in modern society." Professor Lin from the Department of Political Science and Law of the Central Party School believes, "In contrast, there are still some problems in the phenomenon of nepotism in my country's public affairs field, and its drawbacks are emerging one by one. From the legal perspective Speaking, this not only runs counter to the spirit of the modern constitution, but also deviates from the nature of a socialist country.” It is understood that in recent years, some localities or departments have attached great importance to the selection of talents from the grassroots, and paid attention to the selection of leading cadres from the "grassroots".For example, in 2010, the selection of cadres in Sichuan Province focused on the selection of township party committee secretaries, post-disaster recovery and reconstruction frontline candidates, non-targeted pre-release candidates, and targeted public selection of a group of county- and township-level leading cadres among village cadres who returned to their hometowns to start businesses and college students. From the end of March 2010, Guangxi implemented the "Guangxi Open Selection and Recruitment of Thousands of Cadres Plan", with a total of 1,112 people, including the public selection of leading cadres for the grassroots and the examination of civil servants in township and township agencies, and the public selection and recruitment of urban and rural areas. Street party building work organizers, etc. "The government's absorption of talents is, in a sense, the absorption of public opinion." Hu Xianzhi said, "Abstracting elites from the grassroots is what the government must do to represent the interests of the people, and it must be guaranteed by the system. Only Only in this way can we truly unite the hearts of the people, express their opinions, and convince the people, thereby maintaining social harmony and national stability, and ensuring the healthy development of society.” "How to select, employ, and manage people has become a core issue in the construction of my country's current cadre team." Wang Yukai believes, "At present, there are two major problems to be solved in my country's officialdom. One is that we cannot widely select and employ people, and cannot be fair and transparent The second is the phenomenon of buying and selling officials from time to time. The two are intertwined, seriously distorting and deteriorating the ecology of officialdom in our country, and poisoning the entire social atmosphere." "This requires an investigation of our country's selection and appointment thinking, so as to prescribe the right medicine." Wang Yukai suggested, "On the one hand, we should further broaden the scope of selection of cadres, let the public have more right to speak, so that the majority of candidates can be selected, and further increase The basis of public opinion for the selection of cadres. Regardless of whether they are the children of dignitaries or not, as long as they are talents, they will have equal opportunities for promotion. Be an example to others." In the opinion of Professor Li Chengyan of the School of Government of Peking University, in order to alleviate the public's "fairness anxiety" in the selection of cadres, we should also change the situation that civil servants are determined for life in one test, and establish and improve the exit mechanism of civil servants as soon as possible, especially to explore leading cadres. Tenure "unilateral exit" mechanism and exit system. "As a healthy and vibrant country, it is necessary to ensure that the regime can continuously absorb outstanding talents from the common people to ensure the efficiency of the system. At the same time, it is necessary to leave a channel for the common people to rise, so as to ensure social stability." Zhang Ming believes that, "Currently, some experience and practices in college entrance examination enrollment may be used for reference in the selection of cadres. For example, the establishment of a national cadre selection and examination system with unified time, unified questions, and unified examinations can avoid black box in the selection of cadres in some places. operate." "The fairness of the cadre selection system can be guaranteed only if everyone can compete on the same starting line." Hu Xianzhi believes, "The only way to ensure that the 'grassroots elite' has a way to rise in the system is to establish a procedure that is open and operational. A transparent, fair and impartial cadre selection system, and strictly enforced. In the selection of cadres, it is especially necessary to disclose the relevant information of the cadres, such as the family background, personal experience, family property, social relations, etc. of the cadres. At the same time, it is necessary to establish The first-line party and government leading cadres are trained and selected, and the system must ensure that a certain proportion of civilian children can be promoted." From the perspective of countries around the world, in order to ensure equal opportunities for citizens, nepotism in government agencies and officials opening back doors for relatives are generally prohibited in law, and an official avoidance system is established.For example, U.S. federal law prohibits federal officials from employing, appointing, recommending, or promoting their relatives to work in any agency or department controlled by the official.Poland's "State Organ Staff Law" stipulates: "If a state organ employee himself and his spouse, immediate family members or close relatives constitute a subordinate relationship in position, they cannot hold positions in the same organ." Not only that, in the civil servants In terms of employment and promotion, many countries also expressly prohibit special care for the children of officials, and impose severe penalties on violators. "Further strengthen the openness and transparency of the selection and appointment process of young cadres, and consciously accept public supervision. Only in this way can young cadres who take up leadership positions truly establish their prestige and carry out their work better." Professor Qi Shanhong of Nankai University He confessed in an interview with reporters. At the same time, Professor Qi Shanhong also suggested: "In the past, some young cadres were selected without violations of regulations, but there were many misunderstandings among the public. Some of them were problems in the way the government responded to public doubts, not only did they not clarify the truth. , On the contrary, it has aggravated the doubts of the public. In the information age, the government must learn how to deal with the public through the media.” "The Internet can be used to establish a network communication platform with multiple functions such as publicity and interaction." Researcher Yin Yungong, director of the Institute of Journalism and Communication of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said in an interview with reporters, "The network communication platform can be used systematically, comprehensively, and professionally. , Publicize the selection and appointment of cadres in a timely manner, the effectiveness of the party's rectification of unhealthy practices in the employment of personnel, and accept the suggestions of the masses on the selection and appointment of personnel. Use the Internet to publicize the procedures and contents of the selection and appointment of young cadres to the public in a targeted and targeted manner. Strategically publicize the reasons for appointment and removal, and continuously improve the credibility of selection and appointment.”