Evaluation for officials hinges on public input

Advisers call for public input

By Tan Yingzi (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-13 10:00

Four years ago, Qiu Mingjun faced a steep career challenge in his desire to rise above the post of director for Santai county, Sichuan province.

His county lagged behind other regions in economic development, and officials were being graded on their local gross domestic product (GDP), or the value of goods and services made within a year.

Qiu had one hope: A new rating system that takes into account the feelings of the public.

With praise for his outstanding performance in other public service behind him, Qiu successfully made the leap to vice-mayor of Mianyang, Sichuan province, in a pilot project that will now expand to all of China.

"I could not have won the election without this new system," Qiu said.

The central government recently approved a new evaluation system for Chinese officials based on the local program that helped Qiu further his career.

The standard not only measures GDP, it also gives equal weight to the official's efforts in enhancing economic and social development, especially in improving social welfare.

Officials should possess strong capabilities, moral integrity, a focus on work and also be recognized favorably by the public. The evaluation process must be "fair, objective and feasible," the guidelines said.

"We must encourage more involvement and supervision from the public, make our work more transparent and give more weight to public opinion," the document said.

Some experts said the new system will encourage officials to put more effort into social development, and lead to more transparency during the nomination of officials.

"Officials usually think that the country's development is just about the economy and environmental protection," said Wang Changjiang, a researcher from the Party School of Central Committee of Communist Party of China. "The new guidelines ask them to do more for social development in civilization, public services and human rights."

More and more local governments have now invited the public to participate in the electoral process, including nominating candidates and taking surveys.

"It really shows big progress when the media gets involved in the election," said Liu Xutao, professor from China National School of Administration.

But other experts said the new guidelines will not make a big impact on officials unless their promotions are at stake.

Two months ago, the electoral victory of 29-year-old Zhou Senfeng to mayor of Yicheng, Hubei province sparked public debate and created doubt about the election's transparency.

Zhou, as the sole candidate in the election, was unanimously elected to become the youngest mayor in the province. After his appointment was announced, many raised questions about his qualifications.