People's Daily Online and News of the Communist Party of China yesterday published results of a survey they conducted on netizens' assessment of young cadres, those who are 45 or younger who occupy leading posts in government and CPC departments.

The websites, www.people.com.cn and cpc.people.com.cn, carried a graphic showing the respondents' reactions to two questions.

One of them asked: "Which of the following qualities do you think young cadres need to improve most?"

Fifty-two per cent chose "Moral character"; 21.9 per cent chose "Political correctness"; 21.2 per cent opted for "Handling complex problems"; and 4.9 per cent favored "Capability".

The other question was "Which of the following aspects in selecting and training young cadres do you think needs to be improved immediately?"

The responses were: "Put them in grassroots units to assess their performance (43.1 percent); "Give priority to their moral characters while ensuring they possess both virtue and ability (43 percent); "strictly monitor their conduct (7 percent); "Educate them to be a loyal communist" (6.9 percent).

The responses suggest two things. First, the public cares more about officials' morals than their capabilities, though having "both virtue and ability" has been a traditional criterion used to gauge officials.

Second, the public remains skeptical about whether personal moral quality has been given enough attention in promoting officials.

People's doubts are well founded after a flood of media reports about officials' immoral conduct.

The latest case in Xishui, Guizhou province, saw "a number of public servants" tried for soliciting prosti-tutes and sex with underage girls.