Prof. Yu said the "fever" for government positions also indicates, to some extent, a lack of trust in the stability of the social welfare system.Almost 90 percent of the rural population has no health insurance and nearly 60 percent of city dwellers are not covered by health insurance, according to the Ministry of Health.

"Social security is a key factor in social harmony," Prof. Yu said.

Last Wednesday, China published the Resolution on Major Issues Regarding the Building of a Harmonious Socialist Society, which was adopted at the conclusion of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on October 11.

"We are stepping up efforts to improve the rule of law, develop a culture of clean and honest government, and strengthen the checks and supervision on power," said Chinese President Hu Jintao.

He exhorted government officials "to improve their self-discipline and resist materialism, hedonism and individualism."

The recent dismissal of the former secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China as well as Qiu Xiaohua, former head of China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), for their involvement in the 10 billion yuan social security fund scandal, illustrates the determination of central government to stamp out corruption and build a clean and efficient government.

China punished 67,505 government officials for corruption from January 2003 to August 2006, according to the latest judicial figures released on October 23. According to the procuratorate's statistics, more than 17,505 corrupt officials were prosecuted and punished in the first eight months of 2006.

"University students should realize that a government job will never be a 'golden bowl'. The 'bowl' is given by the people and will be broken if responsibility is ignored," said Prof. Liu Xirui.

1

2

3

4

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)