He Rong, vice president of Beijing Higher People's Court, said on September 10 that over 16,344 lawsuits against the capital’s government agencies were accepted in the past 15 years.

He said about 71 percent were appealed by the complainant in the last five years, and the number resolved in the past three years was more than the total resolved from 1990 to 2001.

He was speaking at the Establishing a Law-Based Government Forum, held by the Legislative Affairs Office of Beijing Municipality, according to China Youth Daily.

He said the cases now involve almost all administrative bodies and over 40 fields, including public security, industry and commerce, taxation and government procurement.

Courts in Beijing also accept and hear cases involving ministries and commissions directly under the State Council as well as departments directly under it.

According to He, 22 of the 28 ministries were accused of abusing administrative powers, and the rates of losing a lawsuit were 23.5, 18.9 and 17.4 percent over the past three years.

He also said that, in order to promote citizens’ trust in government and reduce social conflicts, the courts must correct illegal and unfair administrative behavior and see that judgments are fair.

(China.org.cn by Wu Nanlan, September 18, 2005)