That's because China is a meritocracy. Everybody has to work their way up from the very bottom in order to prove their worth - even people with connections will

That's because China is a meritocracy. Everybody has to work their way up from the very bottom in order to prove their worth - even people with connections will fail if they can't prove their worth. And so you don't end up with random dudes with no qualification whatsoever trying to run for important seats.