能上能下 (nengshang nengxia): Enabling promotion or demotion by performance

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China issued a regulation on the promotion and demotion of officials on Monday. According to the regulation, the Party will enhance its management and evaluation of officials in Party and government agencies. Capable officials will be promoted, mediocre ones will be replaced and incapable and corrupt officials will be demoted or punished.

The regulation aims to fix a longtime problem in China's political system that allows officials to be promoted or stay at the same level, but does not let them be demoted unless they violate Party rules or the law. That officials can keep their jobs or even be promoted so long as they don't misbehave means that those officials who fail to per-form their duties well can still hold their positions or even be promoted. They will not be demoted unless they make a serious mistake.

If mediocre officials can easily hold their positions even if they fail to do their job well, there's no room for competent officials to be promoted. This is a waste of talent undermining public interests.