Petitions can now easily be filed online

Kong Rong, a resident of East China’s Anhui province, hit the lowest point of her life 10 years ago, when her mother was killed in a traffic accident and she was left with significant debts from medical and funeral bills.

The driver failed to pay the 157,000 yuan ($22,700) in compensation awarded by the courts, while Kong had little income and few assets.

“I went through a really hard time. I told myself not to get sick, because I could not afford to,” recalled Kong, who is now in her 50s.

She resorted to petitioning the local government. In 2011, she finally received about 60,000 yuan from a relief fund which uses public money to address difficult court cases in which both plaintiff and defendant are poor.

Kong is one of numerous Chinese people to have benefited from the petitioning system that dates back to 1950s.

Also known as “letters and calls”, petitioning is the administrative system for hearing public complaints and grievances. In China, petitions mostly relate to land acquisition, healthcare, education or environmental protection.

Filing a complaint has been made easier now the process can be conducted online. The State Bureau for Letters and Calls started receiving petitions via the internet in July 2013. Last year, some bureaus allowed petitioning through mobile apps, including WeChat.

The number of petitions lodged via the internet last year was more than double that of the previous year, Shu Xiaoqin, head of the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, told reporters during the ongoing two sessions — the annual gathering of the nation’s top legislature and its top political advisory body — in Beijing.

“The internet is becoming the main channel for petitioning,” Shu said, adding that mobile devices have accounted for more than half of all online submissions so far this year.

In addition, some local governments have asked legislators, political advisers and scholars to help petitioners.

In 2011, former truck driver Gong Jianping was severely paralyzed in a traffic accident and his wife had to quit her job to take care of him. As the couple did not have the means to file for a compensation claim, they petitioned the government.

Political adviser He Zongwen helped the family to take the case to court and secure compensation of 650,600 yuan.

“Political advisers are an important force in solving social conflicts,” He said.

Petitioning is an important channel for administrative aid and an important way for the Communist Party of China to hear public opinion, according to Xin Ming, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee.

“Petitioning should work alongside the rule of law,” Xin added.