Editorials

Use public resources well

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-07 07:51

Editor's note: The public wants more honest and responsive bureaucrats who don't need get certifications from foreign academia.

Personal and partisan loyalties form the bedrock of traditional governance, which is, sadly, incapable of handling extant realities.

Providing the country's future leaders with a peep into global best governance practices is crucial to streamlining administration at home. That is why the Communist Party of China sends the leaders of tomorrow for training overseas. The Nanyang Technological University of Singapore alone has trained more than 8,000 such handpicked candidates.

For those receiving an advanced academic degree or certificate at government expense, this is an inexpensive personal gain. The sponsors too can rest assured that its chosen few do know a thing or two about effective governance than previously.

The public, however, cares little for such certification. "Zhushui wenping," the folk lingo for academic certificates that are awarded to incompetent candidates, to officials, or to academically mediocre Chinese students by universities abroad, is by now quite well known.

The public has learnt to take with a pinch of salt all references to academic competence in the resumes of bureaucrats.

They view such training as expensive affairs since similar expertise can be gained at home at much lower cost.

Common folk want more honest and responsive bureaucrats - that, of course, does not need certification by foreign academia.

Chinese bureaucrats may rank high in terms of the proportion of individuals with doctorates. Yet, much of what they learn overseas is also available online, at no cost to the exchequer.

Officials never lack in opportunities to observe how their foreign counterparts work on their frequent trips abroad.

The chief problem with Chinese officialdom lies in its obsolete mechanisms. Examples of change can come from within. Hong Kong, for instance, can teach the mainland a thing or two on how to curb corruption.