Candidates walk into an exam site in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, Nov. 24, 2013. China's annual national civil servant recruitment exam kicked off on this day. National-level government agencies, their affiliated public institutions and local branches will recruit 19,000 civil servants in 2014. (Photo: Xinhua) 

China plans to recruit over 14,500 civil servants this year, the fewest in 10 years, along with the strict one-strike principle on political background checks.
Applications for the public servant examination began on Monday and will end on October 30.
Once admitted, the civil servants will work for 75 central government agencies and 20 institutions directly under them, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Sunday, citing the State Administration of Civil Service (SACS).  
"The decrease in the number of vacancies is the result of the country's decision to reduce the government's role in resource allocation," Su Wei, a professor at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China Chongqing Municipal Committee, told the Global Times on Wednesday. 
This year's recruitment will put a high premium on the applicants' personal background. Recruiting departments and institutions will strictly check the applicants' personal information, including age, Party standing, educational background and work experience, CCTV News reported on Sunday. 
Applicants who fail the political standard will be denied due to a one-strike principle, CCTV reported. 
Su said the strict standards are being applied to make sure the country recruits highly qualified civil servants before they could be promoted to important Party organs.  
The exam will be held on December 2, according to an announcement on the SACS website on Sunday.
The Global Times has learned that as of October 23, 84,592 applicants had passed background checks and will be allowed to take the exam. 
In 2017, more than 1.1 million people took the exam for 28,000 vacancies, an increase of 984,000 year on year, Xinhua reported.