Time spent beyond the borders, including Hong Kong and Macau, is under growing scrutiny for jobs that are deemed sensitive.
A district police bureau in Beijing is the latest public sector employer to rule out any job applicants who have lived outside mainland China – including Hong Kong and Macau – for more than six months.
Time spent beyond mainland borders is under growing scrutiny for roles deemed sensitive, with similar restrictions imposed by other law enforcement agencies and the immigration department in recent years.
It comes as the ruling Communist Party’s national security drive gathers pace amid an intensifying rivalry with the United States, and following anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019.
The Pinggu branch of Beijing’s Public Security Bureau is currently advertising to recruit 40 auxiliary police officers. Its ad posted to social network WeChat on Monday states that anyone who has spent six months or more outside the mainland will not be eligible to apply. Neither will those involved in drugs, gambling or prostitution.
The ad says people who have studied, worked or lived outside mainland China for more than six months and whose “experience and political conduct during their time abroad is difficult to investigate” need not apply.
