The Communist Party of China (CPC) unveiled a package of "dos and don'ts" 
governing official promotions and transfers in a bid to avoid corruption and 
nepotism.
Researchers said the regulations aim to realize smooth and transparent tenure 
changes for Party and government officials at the county level and above. 
Leading officials should not hold key positions in the Party and government 
agencies of their birthplaces, they said. Moreover, married couples should not 
be put under the same leadership, nor should one spouse become "the boss of the 
other" in Party or governmental organizations.
Officials of the CPC Central Committee, the State Council, and the Standing 
Committee of the National People's Congress are also required to abide by the 
regulations.
They are stipulated in the Temporary Provisions on the Avoidance of Leading 
Officials, which were announced over the weekend by the General Office of the 
Communist Party of China Central Committee.
The Temporary Provisions on the Tenure of Leading Officials and the 
Regulations on the Transfer of Leading Officials were also unveiled amid the 
ruling party's latest efforts to curb corruption. 
Before the CPC's 17th Congress, which is to be held during next year, the 
Party official appointments and governmental chiefs' elections have been in full 
swing.
By the end of this year or early 2007, the CPC is scheduled to finish Party 
chief appointments for five-year terms of office in the mainland's 2,861 
counties. 
It is determined to appoint the cadres, around the age of 45 and holding 
bachelor's or higher degrees, as county-level Party chiefs to consolidate its 
ruling power at the grassroots level.
Along with the appointment of new county Party chiefs, heads of county 
governments will also be elected this year and in early 2007, according to a 
schedule made by the National People's Congress in March.
The tenure shift has already taken place at the provincial and cabinet 
department level since late 2005.
However, position shifts in some cities come too frequently. In a typical 
case, the industrial city of Handan in North China's Hebei Province had seven 
mayors from 1993-2004. "The practice is no good for local residents," declared 
the People's Daily.
To avoid similar happenings, the provisions required officials to stop sudden 
promotions and transfers and work for their full tenures. 
The provisions also limited the officials to a maximum of 10 years (two 
tenures) at the same position and place. Afterwards, "they must be transferred 
to other positions or other places," the provisions say.
Party chiefs and government heads at county-level should be regularly rotated 
within a city, and city-level party chiefs and mayors should be shifted from 
city to city in a province. 
The provisions have already been piloted in Sichuan. Officials at the county 
level and above have all taken positions away from their birthplaces or have 
been shifted or promoted to a different place during the past three years. 
The changes have their critics. "I don't think it's a good practice as some 
officials have to leave behind their families, and it will also increase public 
spending if they often commute between the cities where they work and families," 
said Ma Shoulong, a professor at Renmin University of China.
(China Daily 08/08/2006 page2)