Opinion | Appointment of 3 professionals to government posts could spark bold reforms - or revolt
The decision to appoint three outside professionals on contract to senior posts could be a catalyst for change, if the government follows through
Shanghai's decision to look outside government to fill three key municipal posts has won plaudits from the public. The additions were seen as a step towards making government more professional and efficient.
To hire three deputy directors, the city's southern Fengxian district recently broke the long-standing practice of promoting from the civil service ranks and considering guanxi, the informal network of personal favours and connections that governs much business in China.
Instead, the district enlisted a lawyer, an asset manager and a corporate executive on one year contracts to help it cut red tape.
The three hired were Li Ming, a law firm partner and a veteran lawyer to be a deputy director of the justice bureau; Shao Nan , a founding partner with an asset management firm to fill the deputy post at the economic planning agency and Lu Lei, an assistant to the CEO of a international business advisory firm to work as a deputy director of the science and technology committee.
Although it was only a baby step towards reform in the way the city selects its cadres, Sha Hailin, head of the Communist Party's United Front Work Department in Shanghai, expressed high hopes for the three new appointments.
Sha's statement was a clear message that the trial run was intended as a concrete measure towards reform, rather than political window-dressing. He encouraged the new official to shoulder their responsibilities and become trouble-shooters.