The Beijing municipal government has announced plans to hire 15 senior officials through a countrywide competition.

Chinese scholars returned from overseas will be given priority in recruitment when they reach the same standard as people without overseas experience.

The 15 posts include eight deputy heads of municipal governmental departments, for example, vice-director of the Beijing Municipal Commission of Urban Planning and vice-director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the Beijing municipal government.

Meanwhile, deputy heads of four municipal research-orientated organizations will also be hired, including the vice-president of the Beijing Municipal Agriculture and Forestry Academy and vice-president of the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences.

Three State-owned companies have also joined the recruitment drive.

For example, the position of vice-president of the Beijing City Commercial Bank Co Ltd is also listed.

"The move is in response to a regulation issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on selecting government officials," said a public notice on the recruitment.

According to Du Deyin, vice-Party secretary of Beijing, public recruitment will help widen the selection of senior governmental officials.

"A more public and just system for selecting officials will be established," he was quoted by local media as saying.

Applicants for public bidding this time should meet six requirements, including education experience of at least bachelor's degree, be below 45 years old for most posts and have relevant working experience. The hiring will be done in three steps: an application, an examination and a decision for appointment.

Applications will be accepted between Saturday and Wednesday at a site in Beijing. Online sign-up is also permitted.

Written and oral examinations will be conducted next month.

Decisions on the appointments will be made by January next year, sources said.

The Beijing municipal government began to choose officials this way in 1996.

(China Daily October 28, 2004)