Zhang Quanjing, (º†ÂÖ®ÊôØ) is the former head of the organization department of the CPC Central Committee (1994 – 1999). The following quotes are from his interview with the Chinese official publication Oriental Outlook„ÄäÁû≠Êúõ‰∏úÊñπÂë®Âàä„Äã. (Translated by CDT):
In my view, one of the major downsides of today’s Chinese political system is “the problem of having too many officials.”
Every province has 40-50 officials at the provincial level, and several hundred or even more than one thousand prefecture level officials; every county has several dozen county level officials. I can say this situation is unprecedented, whether in Chinese history or in the world. This has not counted the fact that every province, every city has not only a governor and mayor, but also 8-9 deputies for the same position. Each one has several secretaries, some secretaries also have assistants…… So many officials add on a lot of expense and build up bureaucracies. [Full Text in Chinese]