A draft amendment to the regulations concerning grass roots petitions was deliberated and passed in principle by the executive meeting of the State Council, chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao Wednesday.

The regulation issued in October 1995 has played an important role in closing the gap between the government and the people and safeguarding petitioners' legal rights and interests, the meeting participants said.

In recent years, new problems have surfaced when the government tried to soothe the complaints of petitioners, which required the government to improve the existing petition regulations, they said.

According to a decision made at the meeting, the amendment will be released by the State Council after further improvement.

The meeting required local governments and relevant departments to implement the new regulations, clear the channels for petitioning and guarantee the right to make proposals and complaints.

The meeting also urged them to receive the public's supervision and enhance efficiency to timely and rationally handle the complaints made by the public.

The amendment also requires local governments and related departments to speed up the publicizing of the new petition regulation and guide the mass to make complaints abiding by law aiming to maintain social stability.

An official survey revealed that 40 percent of these complaints are about police, courts and prosecutors' offices, 33 percent about government, 13 percent about corruption and 11 percent about injustice.

Following the principle of putting the people first, the new Chinese new leadership works very hard to solve the problems raised by complaint letters and visits.

(Xinhua News Agency January 5, 2005)