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Talent for our times

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-05-07 07:40

With the economy like this, job markets shrink globally. Yet not necessarily for everyone. The city of Kunming, for instance, is desperately seeking 40 PhDs in economics.

Of course, there are additional conditions besides a PhD in economic subjects. One has to be a Chinese citizen, born after June 1, 1969, and have completed full-time four-year undergraduate studies.

The capital of southwestern Yunnan province wants 40 such people to fill management positions equivalent to deputy county magistrates. That is an enviable shortcut, or through-train, into Chinese officialdom. It may take a decade, or longer, for a regular office clerk to get there.

Salute the Kunming municipal authorities. At least they do not seem to care where you got the degree: at home or abroad. They have made it crystal clear: they are recruiting from around the world.

These days, it is almost standard practice to look beyond Chinese borders for high-end talent. We always have difficulty understanding why special favor is extended to degrees received in places other than China. Differences in academic degrees and who conferred them do make a difference. But let us be reasonable - it is personal competence, not the degrees themselves that ultimately count.

For the non-discriminative approach alone, the Kunming leaders deserve a pat on the back.

But that does not mean we endorse age-based discrimination, which is obvious in the Kunming case, and rampant throughout China. Few people may question it. Instead, most people take it for granted. We know that. Yet allow us to point this out - government agencies should not sponsor age-based discrimination. We know some official institutions have age limits for officials at specific levels. But are they legally sound? We doubt it.

Nor do we see why a PhD has also to have received full-time four-year undergraduate higher learning. What does this mean to those who taught themselves undergraduate courses? If they passed qualifying tests for postgraduate studies, why should they be denied an opportunity to serve the public? Unless there is evidence that all PhDs without going through formal undergraduate studies are academically inferior, there is no ground for creating such a threshold.

Many have questioned the city showing special favor for PhDs in economic fields. We, too, wonder why. The local organizational authorities attribute it to the city's severe acute shortage of economic talent. They want qualified managers to take care of city administration, investment and fund-raising, as well as trade-related affairs.

We understand the southwestern city's thirst for a more prosperous local economy. We know too well the weight of GDP figures on the Chinese political balance.

But we would rather see local governments focus more on public service than on business undertakings.

Does the city of Kunming have a plan to introduce talents to improve public services?

(China Daily 05/07/2009 page8)