The Chinese public can now expect to receive a faster response
to their complaints after the country's discipline watchdog ordered
disciplinary bodies at all levels to show greater responsibility in
finding solutions.
"In the past few years, every official in disciplinary bodies
has been required to fulfill their due responsibility in solving
complaints lodged by the people," said a source with the Communist
Party of China's (CPC) Central Commission for Discipline Inspection
(CCDI) and the Ministry of Supervision on Tuesday.
"Officials are ordered to solve problem that people reported for
the first time and are prohibited from shirking their
responsibilities."
For example, disciplinary bodies in Jilin Province issued a
special document last year. It stated that any official who
received a complaint from the public must settle it himself instead
of putting it aside or asking other officials to tackle it.
The measure has brought about a sharp drop in the number of
repetitive complaints in the northeastern province. The source,
however, couldn't provide any exact numbers.
In addition, CCDI also urged different departments to cooperate
in investigating public complaints.
In the eastern Shandong Province, meetings are regularly held by
various departments to solve public complaints by the local
disciplinary watchdog, the public security bureau and the
procuratorate.
At the meetings, important cases are discussed and timetables
for their final settlement are set with the aim to solve them
effectively and in a timely fashion, the source said.
Disciplinary bodies have proved important in complaints that
might lead to mass incidents, the source said. Land requisitions,
demolition of urban housing, environmental protection and food and
drug safety have been hot issues that have drawn frequent
complaints in recent years.
In some regions, local disciplinary bodies have even advertised
to raise the public's awareness on how to properly lodge
complaints. Some bodies have also invited the public to join in on
the investigation of key cases.
In future, the awareness of responsibility among officials will
be further intensified, the CCDI source said.
(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2008)