China unveiled a set of reforms to its petition system on February 25, vowing to uphold the rule of law in handling petition cases and expanding petition channels online to better redress public grievances.
Petitioning, also known as the letters and calls system, is the administrative method for hearing public complaints and grievances. People who are not satisfied with government decisions can request reexamination.
According to the guidelines released by the general offices of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, petition cases will be diverted to the courts if they involve lawsuits, and government policy and decision-making will become increasingly transparent and enlist more public participation.
The guidelines asked officials to accept petitions from the public in a face-to-face manner at intervals ranging from one day in six months for provincial-level officials and one day every week for township officials. Those found to have showed indifference or hampered people's interests in petition handling, refusing or delaying petitions, will be seriously punished, according to the document. |