The Xinhuanet (27 February, 2002) reported that the Ministry of Personnel had issued the first handbook containing a code of conduct for China's civil servants. The Personnel Minister, Zhang Xuezhong, said that the handbook spelled out "regulations on the conduct of civil servants regarding political requirements, spiritual morality, diligence, clean practice and legal applications. These clearly set out guidelines on what public servants should or should not do".
The directive is a response to widespread complaints of corruption and mal-practice among government officials.
Among the codes, civil servants are required to speak the national language, Putonghua. The Huaxi City News (28 February, 2002) reported that the provincial government of Sichuan had announced that all its staff would be required to speak Putonghua at work; and that certification tests would be conducted among the civil servants beginning in March this year. The General Secretary of the Sichuan government, Li Hongren, said speaking local dialects would create communication blockages when external contacts were expected to grow with Chinas entry to the World Trade Organization.
In a separate news, the Yangzi Evening News (25 February, 2002), reported that the Department of Personnel in the central province of Anhui had announced that the annual holidays for the provinces public servants would be increased from 114 days to 120 days a year.
(Source: China's news agencies)
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Online: 2002-02-27