Beijing expands national complaint network, but will the government hear its citizens?

The expanded national online system for "letters and calls" is expected to come online by the end of 2014.

The enlarged national complaint network will allow citizens to complain through letters, personal visits, hotlines, videos and the Internet.

Like Us on Facebook

Petitioners can complain to all levels of government, said the State Bureau for Letters and Calls (SBLC).

Petitioning is also known as "letters and calls" or "Xinfang" or "Shangfang" in China. Petitioning is an administrative system for hearing public complaints and grievances. Petitioners generally complain about land acquisition, healthcare and education.

SBLC is expected to release a unified data interface standard for Internet complaints in May. It will then conduct a test run and connect with provincial online petitioning networks this December.

Official data shows the government accepted some 2.48 million online petitions in 2013, up 10.9 percent year-on-year. The number of complaints filed via the Internet is exceeding those delivered by traditional means like mail or personal visits.

Analysts say the Internet and mobile technology is making online complaints more of the norm than the exception. SBLC head, Shu Xiaoqin, believes online petitioning will help ensure transparency in the operation of government organs.

"Through online petitioning, the public can better understand the procedures of dealing with a case and its results, improve their participation and oversight," she said.

Under the current system, SBLC and local bureaus of letters and calls, also called petitioning bureaus, are duty bound to receive letters, calls and visits from individuals or groups on complaints and grievances. Officials then refer the issues to the affected departments and monitor the progress of the settlement.

Petitioners from the provinces who feel they have been deprived of justice, or summarily disregarded often travel to Beijing as a last resort to appeal to central government leaders.