Civil Service of the People's Republic of China

The civil service of the People's Republic of China is the administrative system of the traditional Chinese government which consists of all levels who run the day-to-day affairs in mainland China. The members of the civil service are selected through competitive examination.

As of year 2009, China now has about 10 million civil servants and are managed under the Civil Service Law.[1] Most of the civil servants work in government agencies and departments. State leaders and cabinet members, who normally would be considered politicians in political systems with competing political parties and elections, also come under the civil service in China. Civil servants are not necessarily members of the Communist Party, but 95 percent of civil servants in leading positions from division (county) level and above are Party members.[1]

Levels and ranking system

Chinese civil servants, like their imperial mandarin predecessors, have an extraordinarily regimented system of ranks. The rank system in the civil service and the military were largely abolished during the Cultural Revolution, but restored in the 1980s. The rank of a civil servant are dependent on the positions they assume in the party or the government. Ranks determine the level of benefits in areas such as transportation, housing, and healthcare. The ranks also serve as a rough order of precedence when dictating official protocol when multiple officials attend the same event.

The current civil service ranking system has 27 different ranks (from previously of total 15 levels) and a grade (dangci) system within each rank (at most 14 grades for each rank) to reflect seniority and performance; a combination of rank and dangci ultimately determine pay and benefits.[2]

The 27 ranks are sub-divisions of 11 "levels".[3][2] The following is a non-exhaustive list of party and state positions corresponding to their civil service rank. It should be noted that the list only comprises "leadership positions" (lingdao ganbu), but not civil servants who are not in leadership positions. Non-leading civil servants can be given high corresponding ranks. For example, an expert or advisor hired by the government on a long-term initiative does not manage any people or lead any organization, but may still receive a sub-provincial rank. Similarly, retired officials who take on lesser-ranked (usually ceremonial) positions after retirement would generally retain their highest rank. Occasionally, officials may hold a position but be of a higher rank than what the position indicates, for example a Deputy Prefecture-level Party Secretary who holds a full prefecture-level rank.

Level Rank Level name Party positions Government positions
1 1 to 3 National leader
(国家级)
2 4 to 6 Sub-national leader
(副国级)
3 7 to 8 Provincial-Ministerial level
(省部级)
  • Provincial Governor (Mayor of a direct-controlled Municipality, Chairman of an Autonomous Region)
  • Ministers of the State Council
  • Commissioners or Directors of agencies that directly report to the State Council, such as the National Development and Reform Commission
  • Chair of a Provincial-level People's Congress
  • Chair of a Provincial-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • General Managers of key state-owned enterprises deemed to be "ministerial-level"
  • Chair of national civic organizations such as the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, All-China Women's Federation, etc.
4 9 to 10 Sub-Provincial (Ministerial) level
(副省级)
  • Deputy Secretary of Party Committees of Provinces, Autonomous Regions, Direct-controlled Municipalities
  • Standing Committee Members of provincial-level Party Committees
  • Secretary of Party Committees of Sub-provincial cities
  • Deputy leaders of bodies reporting directly to the Central Committee, such as the General Office, International Liaison, United Front, Organization, Propaganda, Politics-Law, Central Party School
  • Party Secretary of key universities, such as Peking University
  • Deputy Governor (Autonomous Region Chairman, Mayor)
  • Deputy Ministers of the State Council
  • Deputy Commissioners or Directors of agencies that directly report to the State Council
  • Vice Chair of a Provincial-level People's Congress
  • Vice Chair of a Provincial-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • President of key universities, such as Tsinghua University
5 11 to 12 Bureau-Director level
(厅局级)
  • Party Secretary of Prefecture-level cities and divisions
  • Deputy Party Secretary of Sub-provincial cities
  • Standing Committee members of Sub-provincial cities
  • Heads of provincial party organizations (Organization, Propaganda, United Front, etc.)
  • Party Secretary of provincially run universities, such as Hubei University
  • Mayor of Prefecture-level cities
  • Vice-Mayor of Sub-provincial cities
  • Directors (ministers) of provincial departments
  • Chairs of provincial civil organizations (Unions, Women's Federation etc.)
  • Directors of departments of national-level ministries
  • Chair of Prefecture-level People's Congress
  • Chair of Prefecture-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • President of provincially run universities, such as Shanxi University
6 13 to 14 Deputy-Bureau-Director level
(副厅级)
  • Vice-Mayor of Prefecture-level cities
  • Vice Chair of Prefecture-level People's Congress
  • Vice Chair of Prefecture-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • Deputy Chairs of provincial civil organizations (Unions, Women's Federation etc.)
  • Deputy directors (ministers) of provincial departments
7 15 to 16 Division-Head level
(处级)
  • Party Secretary of Counties or County-level cities
  • Party Secretary of Districts of Prefecture-level cities
  • Heads of prefecture-level party organizations (Organization, Propaganda, United Front, etc.)
  • County Governors
  • Governor of Districts of Prefecture-level cities
  • Mayor of County-level cities
  • Chair of County-level People's Congress
  • Chair of County-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • Heads of sub-divisions of a provincial department
8 17 to 18 Deputy-Division-Head level
(副处级)
  • Deputy Party Secretary of Counties or County-level cities
  • Deputy Party Secretary of Districts of Prefecture-level cities
  • Standing Committee members of County-level Party Committees
  • Deputy County Governors
  • Vice Mayor of County-level cities
  • Vice Chair of County-level People's Congress
  • Vice Chair of County-level People's Political Consultative Conference
9 19 to 20 Section-Head level
(科级)
  • Party Secretary of Towns or Townships
  • Heads of county-level party organizations (Organization, Propaganda, United Front, etc.)
  • Magistrate of Townships (Mayor of Towns)
  • Chair of Township-level People's Congress
  • Chair of Township-level People's Political Consultative Conference
  • Heads of sub-divisions of a prefecture-level department
10 21 to 22 Deputy-Section-Head level
(副科级)
  • Deputy Party Secretary or Standing Committee member of Towns or Townships
  • Deputy heads of county-level party organizations (Organization, Propaganda, United Front, etc.)
  • Deputy Magistrate of Towns or Townships
  • Vice Chair of Township-level People's Congress
  • Vice Chair of Township-level People's Political Consultative Conference
11 23 to 24 Section member
(科员)
  • Staff subordinate to a section-head
  • Heads party organizations of township-level divisions
  • Staff subordinate to a section-head
  • Head of local departments of towns and townships, such as a town police chief of financial secretary
N/A 25 to 27 Ordinary Staff
  • Any unranked person
  • Village Party Branch Secretary
  • Any unranked person
  • Village chief

History

China has had a tradition of maintaining a large and well-organized civil service. In ancient times eligibility for employment in the civil service was determined by an Imperial examination system.

State Administration of Civil Service

The State Administration of Civil Service (SACS) was created in March 2008 by the National People's Congress (NPC). It is under the management of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS), which resulted from the merger of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security. The function of the administration covers management, recruitment, assessment, training, rewards, supervision and other aspects related to civil service affairs. The SACS also has several new functions. These include drawing up regulations on the trial periods of newly enrolled personnel, further protecting the legal rights of civil servants and having the responsibility of the registration of civil servants under central departments. The SACS's establishment was part of the government's reshuffle in 2008. It aimed at a "super ministry" system to streamline government department functions.

Salary and allowances

There are three main components of civil service pay according to the 2006 pay regulation by the State Council of the PRC, namely base pay (基本工资), cost-of-living allowances (津补贴), and bonus(奖金).[4]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "The Reformed Chinese Civil Service System" (PDF). East Asian Institute at National University of Singapore. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  2. 1 2 "China'a present professionalized civil service" (PDF). East Asian Institute at National University of Singapore. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  3. "中国正部级干部有多少?正部 副部级待遇揭秘". danjian.cn.
  4. Wu, Alfred M. (2014). Governing civil service pay in China (1st ed.). Retrieved January 23, 2015.

Further reading

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