The number of petitions and complaints received by governments
and Communist Party committees at county level and above in 2005
were down nine percent from the previous year.
The decline in the number of petitions can be attributed to the
government's great efforts in resolving protests lodged by
petitioners and the promulgation of regulations on complaints, said
an official with the state bureau of petitions and complaints.
"The opinions and problems relayed by citizens through letters
and visits mirror the true social reality and are precious
political resources for the government," said the official, adding
that the bureau summarized more than 5,000 items of opinions and
problems after "combing" all the letters it received in 2005 and
reported the results to the state and Party leaders.
State and Party leaders have given instructions on how to deal
with the problems raised by petitioners and some of the problems
have been resolved based on the leader's instruction, the official
said.
Currently, the major complaints, lodged by petitioners through
letters and visits, mainly include forced farmland acquisition,
protection of migrant rural workers' rights and finding jobs for
the unemployed.
Since China promulgated the regulations on public complaints in
May 2005, governments at all levels have changed their work style
from passively receiving petitions and complaints to actively
helping resolve the problems reflected by petitioners and build a
long-term system to prevent similar problems from occurring again,
the official said.
(Xinhua News Agency August 17, 2006)
