The summer holidays have started and many Chinese students are using this valuable break to visit hospitals for plastic surgery, which they believe can help pave the way to a better job.

 

 

An advertisement for a plastic surgery centre has attracted the attention of some students. It tells how a cosmetic operation has changed a woman's life. The billboard, stands in a college in Changsha city, has aroused the ire of some students, which they said is insulting the dignity of "ordinary-looking" people.

 

An official from a plastic surgery hospital in Changsha city, capital of central China's Hunan Province, says they have received more than 200 college students in the past month, most of whom hope their face lifts will help them find work.

 

Wang Li is a college graduate and she explained to the China News Service why she wants the operation.

 

"I have watched many advertisements about the surgery, which makes me believe that it can really improve one's appearance," she said.

 

"I'm going to start job-hunting and I'm not confident with my own face. If I don't do something about it, I'm worried it will prevent me from getting a good job."

 

A senior student, called Liu, gave another reason.

 

"There are some pretty girls in my class. Every year they can easily find part-time jobs, such as sales promoters and banquet receptionists, because of their good appearances. Now, when we are about to graduate, they still can get employed without too much difficulties."

 

But, is it true that a pretty face can increase one's competitive ability in China's tough job market? Not always, employers say.

 

Mr. Wen is the manager of an IT company in Changsha. He says he prefers one's personal ability more than one's appearance. "I'm hiring someone to fetch profits for the company, not a person who wants to be in a beauty pageant," Wen said.

 

A sociologist also advises those young people to be rational towards the medical operation. Zhao Yuyan from the Hunan Normal University says some people actually have magnified the influence of a good appearance. She suggests the students increase their self-confidence by cultivating themselves in their souls, instead of turning to surgery knives.

 

(CRI July 20, 2007)