Civil service an increasingly popular career choice for youth

NANNING/WUHAN, May 25 (Xinhua) -- Fan Zhu, a senior at south China's Guangxi University for Nationalities, knew she had failed the local civil service examination when she saw that her name was not on the list for health examinations.

"Maybe I didn't perform well in the interview," she said. "I should attend the training courses before I take the exam next year."

Fan had rejected several job offers before registering for the civil service exam. "Being a civil servant is my top priority in my career plan," said the 21-year-old girl, who decided to take a temporary job for now and sit the exam again next year.

Like many young Chinese today, Fan said she would prefer the job not only because of its stability but also its increasing social recognition, thanks to the country's intensified anti-corruption efforts over the past decade and civil servants' contributions in helping the masses overcome difficulties.

Wang Xiaoxi, 32, has worked for five years as a civil servant in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province. She said she had never attended any publicly funded banquets.

Wang, who works in a district organizational department, said the government has made great efforts to optimize its recruitment process to guarantee openness and transparency.

"Based on my observations and experience, there's no chance that someone could get in through a back door here, or use their connections or influence to secure advantages," she said.

During Wuhan's lockdown in early 2020 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, Wang stuck to her post to provide logistical support for people in need, despite being pregnant.

"Facing the unknown virus, very few of my colleagues were hesitant to work on the frontline as community and delivery workers. Protecting people amid uncertainty is our responsibility," she said.

The actions of civil servants during the epidemic and China's poverty alleviation campaign have given more young people enthusiasm for the profession. "Their contributions and sacrifices make me more determined to be a servant for our people," said Fan.

Born in a rural area of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Fan has witnessed profound changes in her village over recent years thanks to the country's poverty alleviation and rural revitalization campaign.

"And the civil servants at the grassroots level, who have worked hard to help poor families shake off poverty in recent years, also encouraged me to bring tangible benefits to the public," she added.

Though civil-service posts in villages and townships may be tougher than those in the city, Fan would like to go back to serve rural revitalization.

Su Yuemei, a 25-year-old from Long'an County in Guangxi, has worked hard to become a civil servant. She has taken the local civil service exam every year since 2018, and finally gained an offer this year.

The reinforcement of anti-corruption efforts is necessary to promote the modernization of the national governance system and governing capabilities, she added.

Guangxi plans to recruit 2,905 civil servants in 2021, and the number of applicants exceeds 160,000.

"The number of newly recruited civil servants in Guangxi has been declining in recent years, but the overall number of applicants has remained stable," said Li Hongwei, head of the Guangxi branch of Huatu Education, a training institution for civil service examinations. More than 50 percent of their trainees are fresh graduates.

"So many young people choose to apply to the civil service every year, which shows their recognition of the country's effective anti-corruption efforts as well as the profession," said Wei Wanqing, vice president of the School of Public Policy and Management at Guangxi University.