Revised regulations on petitions were announced on
Monday, to go into effect from May 1.
The petition system is intended to give Chinese
citizens a direct channel to air their grievances with government,
but in recent years increasing numbers of cases have decreased its
effectiveness, particularly as the country’s reforms have deepened
and more people take their cases to central government.
In an interview with Xinhua, officials from the
Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council and the State
Letters and Complaints Bureau acknowledged that problems currently
exist, such as inadequate capacity and lack of supervision of
officials.
To improve the system, the revised regulation
expressly forbids any kind of retaliation against petitioners and
says offenders will be punished.
It also stipulates that governments at all levels
should publicize the contact details of local petition agencies and
arrange for leading government officials to see petitioners face to
face regularly, the idea being to encourage more cases to be
resolved at local level rather than having to come to Beijing.
Zhou Zhanshun, former director of the State Letters
and Complaints Bureau, had previously said that over 80 percent of
petitions could be solved by local governments, but that they
failed to do so.
The regulation says petitions offices at all levels
should make full use of information networks linking central and
local governments to allow petitioners to keep up to date with
their cases’ progress via computer terminals.
It also says that resolution of petitions should be
included as a criterion in assessing civil servants’ performance,
and that officials who violate petitioners’ rights will be
disciplined and held accountable.
The regulation also outlines petitioners’
responsibilities in helping to keep the system running: those who
blockade government departments, interrupt transportation, carry
hazardous objects, insult or beat officials, or profiteer through
organizing petitions will also be held accountable.
(Xinhua News Agency January 18, 2005)