No More "Iron Rice Bowl"

At least for those civil servants living in Shenzhen

According to China Daily, the salaries and other welfare benefits of about 70 percent of the civil servants in the southern city of Shenzhen will not be linked to their official rankings after a new appointment system is introduced this year.

According to the new system, salaries will be linked to their professional ranks, according to Wang Min, director of Shenzhen's Department of Human Resources and Social Security.

More than 24,000 of the city's total 35,000 civil servants will be classified under two types of executive enforcement and special technology after a bolder step is taken in reforming the city's civil servant force, Wang said. "These civil servants will have no official rankings, but they will be grouped into seven professional ranks according to their abilities and work performances," Wang said at a press conference.

The new system indicates that the "iron bowl", a term in Chinese that means a stable occupation for life, of the civil servants will be broken.

The new appointment system offers new professional channels and platforms for the civil servants who do not hope to become leaders or are not suitable to be in leadership positions. They will still be able to develop their abilities and increase their incomes, Wang said.