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JOB OFFER: Wuhan Mayor Tang Liangzhi (left) issues the appointment letter to Hu Quanzhi, a counselor of the local government, on May 29
Hu Quanzhi, a 55-year-old resident of Wuhan City in central China’s Hubei Province, is a man of ideas. In the past 13 years, while working as a teacher at Wuhan No.1 Polytechnic School, he put forward more than 300 suggestions to the municipal government, totaling more than 300,000 characters in length.
Hu has always been enthusiastic about public affairs. In the 1980s, Hu, then a young worker, wrote to the People’s Daily, a leading newspaper, suggesting that postal authorities standardize envelopes. His advice was taken by the government, and Hu felt rewarded.
In 1999, Hu wrote to the Wuhan mayor for the first time, warning him of the safety hazards of skyscrapers.
Since then, Hu has advanced many ideas to the municipal government. In 2002, he suggested tree planting in the open areas in downtown Wuhan. His proposal was adopted, and the city made the tree-planting project one of its top 10 priorities. Because of the amount of advice he had put forward, Hu was honored as one of Wuhan’s “Top 10 Enthusiastic Residents” in 2003 and 2004.
In the meantime, Hu also submitted commentary on public policies to local papers and Websites. He serves as a forum moderator for the Internet portal Cnhan.com. He once criticized the Wuhan Municipal Government for its inadequate efforts in protecting ancient buildings.
Although Hu has been making suggestions to the government for more than a decade, he did not expect that this would one day become his profession until he learned that the Wuhan Municipal Government was recruiting three counselors from the general public in mid-April. A counselor’s duty is to advise the government.
Hu competed for the position and won. On May 29, he and two other people received appointment letters from Wuhan Mayor Tang Liangzhi, and started their three-year ten- ure at the Wuhan Municipal Government’s Counselors’ Office.
Innovative recruitment
The appointment of counselors from ordinary citizens in Wuhan marked an audacious reform in the organization’s history. Counselors’ offices were set up at various levels of government shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, but never before had counselors been chosen through open recruitment and competition. “It is an unprecedented reform,” said Xiang Yue, Deputy Director of the Counselors’ Office of the Wuhan Municipal Government.
According to the Regulations on Government Counselors that went into effect on October 1, 2010, government counselors are mainly chosen from members of the eight non-Communist parties in China and persons without party affiliation. The regulations also stipulate that candidates should be recommended by government leaders or relevant organizations.
“At the very beginning, counselors were directly selected by the United Front Work Department of central and local committees of the Communist Party of China, and candidates were primarily chosen for their political backgrounds. But since the late 20th century, many candidates have been appointed because of their academic achievements,” said Wang Hanping, a colleague of Xiang.
Previously, all candidates for the Wuhan Municipal Government’s Counselors’ Office were recommended by their employers, and most candidates were officials at or above the level of department head or scholars holding an academic title equivalent to a professor.
Xiang said that this year, the Wuhan Municipal Government considered three alternatives: They could be directly appointed by the mayor, recommended by their employers and then chosen by relevant departments, or openly recruited.
The city eventually decided to recruit openly.
Wuhan made several exceptions to conventional selection criteria. For instance, it no longer required a candidate to be endorsed by their employers.
“Any Wuhan residents whose advice had been accepted by municipal leaders or government departments or covered by the media in the preceding three years can apply for the position,” the recruitment announcement said.
“A total of 175 people applied for selection, and 90 percent were self-recommended,”Xiang said.
Wuhan also relaxed age limits for candidates. The Regulations on Government Counselors stipulate that anyone serving as government counselors for the first time should be between the ages of 55 and 65, and a counselor cannot serve beyond the age of 70. This year, the Wuhan Municipal Government only required candidates to be under 60.
“A counselor’s ability and influence don’t have much to do with age. This campaign was meant to find different ways to improve our work,” said a publicity official in the Wuhan Municipal Government’s Counselors’ Office.
Although Wuhan broke with the Regulations on Government Counselors, Xiang said that the selection procedure is legitimate. “The Central Government instructed us to actively explore, and share the results in a timely manner,” he said.
According to the selection procedure, candidates should first submit an essay of no fewer than 3,000 characters to explain their understanding of the counselor position and how they can do a good job once offered the position.
After reading the essays, a panel consisting of incumbent counselors, scholars, media personnel and representatives of local residents picked nine applicants for interviews. Two of the shortlisted applicants were government employees, one worked at a school and the other six worked for local companies.
Then the nine candidates were invited to face-to-face interviews, at which each of them spoke about how to effectively collect public opinion and how to advise the municipal government. Three candidates were eliminated following the interview.
Remaining candidates were further evaluated, and eventually a jury recommended three people for admission. Information about the candidates was announced at the government portal for public feedback before they were officially appointed by the mayor on May 29.
New counselors
In addition to Hu, the two other new counselors of the Wuhan Municipal Government are 46-year-old urban management officer Chen Yong and 37-year-old Shi Lan, a civil servant at the Wuhan Tourism Bureau.
During the interview, Chen said, “I work on the streets every day, dealing with ordinary residents. I can amplify the voices of the general public.”
While working as an urban management officer, Chen said that he has also gained considerable understanding of Wuhan’s history, culture, economics and urban planning.
Shi, a graduate of Peking University, put forward many novel ideas at the interview. For instance, he suggested producing a film based on a foreign factory owner’s story in Wuhan to inform residents of the city’s history.
Shi said he applied to be a government counselor because he would like to convey the needs of ordinary residents to the municipal government.
The three new counselors brought the total number of counselors of the Wuhan Municipal Government to 39. “More importantly, they brought with them their expertise in history and culture, which is a good supplement to the expertise of previous counselors,”Xiang said.
“Counselors from ordinary citizens can better voice people’s concerns,” said Ye Qing, Deputy Director of Hubei Statistical Bureau and a counselor of the Wuhan Municipal Government.
After becoming a counselor, Hu posted a message on the Internet, soliciting from residents suggestions on how to make Wuhan better.
“Counselors are advisors to the mayor. They should follow the rules of the Counselors’ Office and undertake the work assigned by the office, in addition to making personal suggestions,” Xiang said.
Government Counselors
Counselors’ offices are set up by central, provincial and many municipal governments in China. Various levels of government now have a total of 965 counselors, 57 of whom work at the Counselor’s Office of the State Council.
The Counselors’ Office of the State Council was founded in 1949. Its major functions include: carrying out research and investigation on the main work of the Communist Party of China and the government, as well as on controversial and difficult issues of concern to the people; making suggestions to leading officials of the State Council; suggesting amendments to important drafts of state laws, regulations and documents; maintaining intimate contact with all sectors of society and reflecting the social situation and public opinion; participating in patriotic united front work; and guiding the work of counselors’ offices of local governments.
Party and state leaders have visited the office many times to assign it tasks and give timely official replies to investigative reports and suggestions made by the counselors.
Chen Jinyu, Director of the Counselors’ Office of the State Council, said that telling the truth and finding out the truth are the sacred duties of a counselor.
(Source: Counselors’ Office of the State Council)