The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Health last Friday jointly issued a draft standard of the health examination for public servant recruitment.

Public input is currently being solicited to improve the draft.

This first national health standard for hiring public employees is expected to exclude many discriminatory restrictions and better respect citizens' right to employment.

Moreover, the standard-setting process, which enables the public to have more say in deciding the qualifications of public servants, is a progressive move.

Previously, different departments and local governments set their own standards when hiring. Many people had to give up applying for public positions because of physical defects- some as minor as near-sightedness -- that could hardly impact their working ability.

Out of disappointment and anger, some of these rejected people even resorted to violent acts. The most well-known case was that of Zhou Yichao, a college graduate and hepatitis B virus carrier, who killed one official and wounded another in April, 2003 in East China's Zhejiang Province after they rejected his job application for health reasons.

Zhou's case ignited wide debate on discrimination in public service recruitment, especially the unjustifiable health standards.

Other limits on such issues as applicants' height, gender, marital status and residence registration have all been targets of public criticism.

More and more people have chosen to fulfil their legitimate rights to equal employment through filing for administrative reviews or launching lawsuits against the ill practice.

Government departments, as employers, are justified in considering their employees' working ability and efficiency. But health conditions, if not compromising their ability to work, should not shut prospective applicants out of public administration.

More effort is needed to find a balance between the effectiveness of government employees' work and the citizens' right to employment.

Public opinion should be fully valued in establishing the final standards.

(China Daily August 3, 2004)