TeaIbtans living in the so-called ‘Tibet Autonomous Region’ are turning to the civil services or other government jobs to solve the perennial problem of unemployment. In a small Ngari region of Tibet, 20,000 people competed for a first-level clerk position in the postal administration – numbers not seen before.
Although Beijing appoints more politicians from the Han race than Tibetans within the region’s political bodies, there has been a steady increase in the number of Tibetans joining government services and political institutions within Tibet.
In 2021, a record 2.1 million Chinese candidates called for the civil service exam Guokao.
Civil services positions in China are colloquially called ‘iron rice bowl’ positions, a type of job that is as solid as a rice bowl made of iron, as bureaucrats are unlikely to be asked to leave. it occurs.
The Chinese Civil Service Examination is considered challenging. candidates need answer 130 multiple choice questions covering maths, data analysis, science and economics. Candidates should also write five essays of 200 to 1000 words each on social issues and government policies.
“‘If you don’t work for the people, you might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes’ has the following saying Contains a deep philosophy of life. The people are the makers of history, and we must always listen to the people and shape the way we govern. Learn from our history to understand, people should be the focus” They say A sample essay on the government portal for those appearing for the exam.
Getting a high score is not a guarantee that the candidate will be hired. They will have to go through an interview and background check.
In 2022, Beijing advertised around 31,200 national civil service positions. The government has increased the number further in 2023, adding about one-fifth more jobs than a year ago.
Ratio The number of vacancies versus the number of applications appears balanced for the past year as large parts of Tibet were under lockdown due to the fresh wave of Covid. But inequality has been worse in normal years, reflecting the state of employment in the region.
After a record 20 lakh people appeared for the Civil Services Examination in 2021, there was a marginal drop in the number of candidates in 2023. Across China, approximately 1.74 million candidates registered to take the exam, but only 1.42 million passed.
Read also: Wang Yi and Qin Gang – Xi Jinping’s two new appointments and why they matter…
Perks of serving in Tibet
Any non-Tibetan officer going to serve in Tibet can retire compared to civil servants posted to the mainland five years ago while collecting a full pension.
Beijing offers many incentives to those from the mainland who choose to work in Tibet.
there will be a civil servant in tibet earn About 6,000-7,000 yuan per month, which is higher than the salary of 5,000 yuan per month in the mainland. Although the basic salary of civil servants in China will be 5,000 yuan per month Agreed While lower than private-sector jobs in Guangdong or Shanghai, the remuneration is topped up with perks and subsidies for housing, education, transport, medical benefits and childcare. The bonuses paid in Tibet can also be very high due to the physical difficulties of serving in the field.
Civil servants retiring from Tibet can receive a 10,000 yuan/month pension, which is much higher than those who served in most other parts of China.
In addition to higher salaries for civil servants in the region, Beijing has attempted to reward officials of Tibetan origin to encourage others to join the civil services. In August 2022, five civil servants of Tibetan origin were honored with national awards for their work along with other mainland officials.
During the Covid wave in 2021, civil servants will see their additional subsidy cut by 20-30 per cent.
“The total pay cut is about 25 percent, and I’m not expecting much of a year-end bonus given the circumstances,” Told A civil servant named Timothy Tian in an interview with south china morning post Regarding salary cut in 2021.
The cut in civil service subsidies was made to fill a gap in the budget, resulting in ‘hundreds of millions of yuan’ spent on Covid test kits and related medical equipment. According to one estimate, Covid spending could be up to $252 billion, or 1.5 percent of China’s GDP, if the regime of daily Covid testing was maintained, the testing strategy recently changed in Beijing’s last change of Covid policy was removed.
Read also: What dominates the Chinese chatter on India – economy, cheap medicine
downsides
The financial rewards associated with becoming a civil servant in Tibet come with the cost of being expelled from service for participating in religious activities. In 2014, Beijing published a test implementation (like a draft policy document that is supposed to send a message to civil servants) of provisions punishing civil servants who engage in religious and political activities.
“Organising and using religious activities to oppose the party’s line, guidelines and policies, to incite riots, and to undermine national unity and integrity,” They say a section of the provision.
Article 6 of the said guidelines especially 14 Limit Contact Withth Dalai Lama. participant’PrayerOrganized by ’14th The Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration will be punished. Even the children of bureaucrats cannot be seen in contact with the Dalai Lama or his aides.
As economic conditions have relatively improved for some sections of Tibetan youth, the search for stable jobs has made the civil services and the military an attractive option.
Tibetans aspiring to become civil servants do not mean that Beijing has become a merit-driven society where local Tibetan bureaucrats get the same treatment as Chinese mainland bureaucrats.
In addition, Xi’s selection of allies for the 20th The sidelining of the Party Congress and the Communist Youth League faction only indicates that the Chinese are against the rise of bureaucrats of Tibetan origin in the bureaucratic hierarchy.
The interest of Tibetan youth in the civil services shows that government policy has failed to create enough private enterprises that can create local jobs. Therefore, Tibet’s internal stability is supported by large government spending and youth discontent – as elsewhere in the Chinese mainland. This may create new challenges for Beijing in the future.
The writer is a columnist and freelance journalist. He was previously China media correspondent with the BBC World Service. He is currently a MOFA Taiwan Fellow based in Taipei and tweets @aadilbrar. Thoughts are personal.
(Editing by Anurag Choubey)