The city of Shenzhen, in south China's Guangdong Province, plans
to recruit government employees from Hong Kong beginning this
August.
A total of 3,000 jobs are expected to be open in the fields of
city planning and management, health, education, technology and
finance. Annual salaries will reach as high as US$180,000.
Shenzhen is interested in recruiting from the special
administrative region because in general, Hong Kong residents have
a higher level of education, are fluent in both English and Chinese
and are more professional.
A recent survey shows Shenzhen is the first choice for Hong Kong
people seeking employment on the mainland.
The Shenzhen government also expects to cooperate with its HKSAR
counterparts and talent market intermediaries to set up a long-term
mechanism for talent exchanges and training programs.
The implementation of the Closer Economic Partnership
Arrangement (CEPA) from January 1 this year provides a new platform
for economic cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong that calls
for more talent exchanges between the cities.
By the end of April, there were more than 11,087 Hong
Kong-funded enterprises with a total investment of US$34.5 billion
in Shenzhen.
"At the early stage of the city's opening, we depended on Hong
Kong funds and technology to achieve rapid economic development.
Today we should do more to use Hong Kong talent to realize the
city's new development goals," said Shenzhen Vice Mayor Xu
Zongheng.
The number of Hong Kong people working in Shenzhen is now more
than 30,000.
(CRI and Shenzhen Daily June 24, 2004)