Officials hope fresh blood will ease social discontent
The Communist Party has issued new rules on the selection of grass-roots cadres in the vast rural areas, imposing an age cap of 45 on thousands of county chiefs.
The move came after a series of recent initiatives by the party and the government, including vows to increase rural spending, aimed at addressing problems and calming rural discontent as a result of the growing economic and social imbalance between cities and poor countryside.
Analysts noted the rules were issued by the party's central organisation department in the run-up to a major reshuffle of local cadres in March, and ahead of a major party gathering next year.
'Party and government cadres at the county chief level should be mostly around the age of 45, and at least have a certificate for undergraduate studies,' the People's Daily reported, citing the rules.
The report also said county chiefs, once appointed, should not be moved to other posts at the same level until they have completed a five-year tenure.
'It is a good policy which could make local leadership more stable and help reduce rampant image projects in rural areas,' said Mao Shoulong, a political scientist at Beijing's Renmin University.
