The online résumé of a district chief in Tongchuan in Northwest China's Shaanxi province, has been recently questioned by some Chinese netizens, because it shows that the official started working at the age of 12. A staff member with the provincial government responded on Wednesday that there is nothing wrong with the résumé, as the official was with a local arts organization when he was 12. Comments:

For officials who used to work as artists or athletes, they may be able to start working at a very young age. But when it comes to promotion, their résumé should be open for public supervision and scrutiny. Indeed, educational background does not determine capability, yet a fake résumé could sabotage the Party's credibility if not properly dealt with.

sconline.com.cn, July 2

The youthful work experience may be attributable to the typical mentality in officialdom, where many employees seek to beautify even forge their résumés in a bid for promotion. It is doubtful that a 12-year-old could achieve a lot in his service, but like most who work in State-owned enterprises, he is more likely to get promoted with longer working years in his résumé.

dahe.cn, July 2

The unconvincing long service is not the real problem, the emerging public distrust of civil servants shown by the response to it is. Some insincere and incompetent officials have dealt a blow to the government's credibility in general, hence it is not a surprise that netizens questioned the Shaanxi official's résumé.

iqilu.com, July 2

To protect the public's right to supervision, relevant departments should disclose governmental officials' qualifications to clear doubts about them. To most people, working at the age of 12 is unconventional and worth questioning. Had the local government made clear all the details in the doubtful résumé, there would not have been an online uproar about it.

people.com.cn, July 2