China will soon open a national center to handle complaints and petitions from the public as part of a national complaints information system. This will ensure that any problems or grips from the general population will receive appropriate and expedient attention, according to a newly released regulation reported by Xinhua yesterday.

The information system will enable members of the public to log and check how the government is handling public complaints and petitions, the regulation said.

The regulation, co-issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the State Council, China's cabinet, stated that local governments should keep their public complaint reception channels open and unclogged.

The regulation specified that all CPC committees and levels of government should pay full attention and respect to the people's right to complain to them and should seriously handle all such cases, the regulation said.

It dictated that local governments should make available mail boxes, hotlines, and online channels for the public to direct their complaints and that state officials should regularly solicit petitioners to appear in front of special hearings.

"Local governments should also guide the people to make complaints and petitions in rational and legal ways," the regulation said.

An effective system of handling public complaints must be worked out through the coordination of all relevant government organs, who must team up to help supervise the petition work, it reads.

The regulation also said that local governments should view suggestions from petition departments with due care and consideration when drafting new policies, in order to better reflect the will of the grass roots.

(Xinhua News Agency June 25, 2007)