More non-Communists to help lead China

BEIJING, March 2 (UPI) -- More non-Communists are expected to become high-ranking officials in China, it was reported Sunday.

Two non-Communist government ministers were appointed last year and more are expected to be appointed to top-level posts, China's state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

"Across China, more than 31,000 non-Communists are working as officials at or above county level, of whom at least 6,000 work at government organizations and judicial bodies at various levels," said Wu Jianmin, spokesman for the First Session of the 11th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Wu said 20 non-Communist officials are already working at the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and central government departments.

Moreover, China has a total of 30 non-Communist vice governors, and 15 big and medium-sized cities have non-Communist vice mayors, he added.

"Many non-Communist officials have shouldered important jobs and played vital roles," Wu was quoted as saying.