Companies out to hire 'connected' Party officials
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Twenty-five private enterprises in Wenzhou in East China's Zhejiang province have gone on a rare, joint recruitment drive for corporate-level Party secretaries "with connections".
The companies based in the private capital powerhouse of the country, Wenzhou, are trying to lure candidates with offers of fat salaries, ranging from 100,000 yuan ($14,600) to 200,000 yuan per year.
The ideal candidate should be able to participate in corporate management as well as ensure smooth relations between the employers and the employees, the companies said in a joint announcement on Tuesday.
The candidates should have rich experience in both Party affairs and business management, it said.
However, observers said part of the companies' purpose in seeking to hire Party secretaries is to build up better government connections, which count as one of the most important elements for doing business in China.
"Chinese companies tend to believe that closer connections with the government will facilitate corporate plans and their implementation," said Zhou Dewen, head of the Wenzhou Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Business Development and Promotion Association.
"A good and capable corporate Party secretary, through his or her connections with the local Party committee, may be able to influence government policies and bring benefits to the company," he said.
According to China's rules and regulations, non-State-owned enterprises with a yearly output value of more than 5 million yuan should set up an internal organization for Party members employed in the enterprise
As such, the more networks a corporate Party secretary has, the more likely he or she can become "a bridge" between the government and enterprise to strive for preferential policies, according to an official from Wenzhou's United Front Work Department who refused to be identified.
He said he used to work temporarily at the Party organization of a local electronic machine company, where he was able to make use of his connections built up from previous years of government experience.
"Those who have guanxi (connections) at their disposal obviously have added-value for the companies. That is why they are willing to spend such a large amount of money to attract them," he said.
However, Zhao Xiaoben, an official from the organization department of the city's Party committee who helped the companies launch the recruitment drive, said the companies are only looking for better management experience.
He said the reason companies are offering so much money is because they feel the Party can play an important role in smoothing out conflicts between workers and employers, as well as provide valuable advice for corporate management.
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