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China society
OpinionChina Opinion
Phoebe Zhang
Phoebe Zhang

Opinion | Even if jobs are scarce in China, they should offer more than stability

  • A civil servant’s complaints about her posting sparked an online backlash about her lack of the spirit of public service. Is it fair?

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Candidates queue to take the exam for admission to the civil service in Wuhan on November 28, 2021. Civil service jobs have become highly coveted among young people in recent years amid an increasingly tight job market. Photo: AFP
Phoebe Zhangin Shenzhen
Contrary to popular belief, not everyone enjoys the stability of having a civil service job in China. A Chinese graduate surnamed Gu, who has a master’s degree in German literature from Wuhan University, said in a now-deleted post earlier this month that she only accepted the job posting to remote Jiayuguan in Gansu province, at the entrance to the Gobi in western China, because of family pressure.

She described the location as “a backward small county”. She said she was trapped in the industrial city dominated by iron and steel industries and worried she had “sold her freedom and soul”.

Her comments triggered an immediate backlash online, with people accusing her of “arrogance”, “immaturity” and “lacking professional ethics”. One commentary from Shanghai-based outlet The Paper said the central problem was that Gu’s goal in life was never to join the civil service. Being a civil servant isn’t merely a job, it said.

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“Someone has to sacrifice, has to lay down some roots and be close to the people,” the commentary said. “If you took the civil service test with an opportunist mindset and utilitarian goals, then you wouldn’t be able to do the job well and wouldn’t be able to contribute to society.”

Jiayuguan authorities said they had granted Gu permission to leave the post.

01:12

Record 2.1 million Chinese sit civil service exam as economy slows, youth jobless rate climbs

Record 2.1 million Chinese sit civil service exam as economy slows, youth jobless rate climbs
Traditionally, becoming a civil servant is regarded as a high honour in Chinese society. The job comes with security – you rarely get fired, and you receive benefits including social welfare, housing subsidies, holidays and medical insurance. There are no such assurances at a private company, even though it is required by law. Many have fondly dubbed civil service jobs as an “iron rice bowl”.
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