Because of the existence of such an index to measure their political performance, some local officials resort to unprincipled or illegal means and ways when it comes to dealing with local people's complaints in a bid to reduce the number of petitions within their administrative regions. Their mentality has been capitalized on by some petitioners, who have chosen some of the country's significant political events, such as the annual sessions of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, or some important festivals, as the time to go to Beijing and present their grievances to relevant State departments.

Given that more than 90 percent of petitioners aim to resolve disputes about money, local governments have to mobilize administrative and economic resources to deal with the petitions and stop the petitioners visiting higher-level governments. As a result, bargains often take place between the local governments and petitioners like the ones between two trading partners. That not only compromises the credibility of the local governments but also increases the temptation for more people to seek compensation. Given that such a problem-solving manner lacks a legally binding agreement, it presents the possibility for a recurrence of seemingly resolved disputes. Also, the use of taxpayers' money to meet the demands of a handful of people will possibly cause new distribution disparities and compromise the interests of the majority of ordinary people.

In the process of their mobilization of public resources to resolve local complaints, local governments should set up a transparent and open mechanism for their actions to be monitored by the public. Only with effective and strict supervision by the public, can local governments handle disputes with residents in accordance with the law and the legitimate rights and interests of petitioners be protected.

The use of legal means to resolve disputes is inevitable as China is committed to building itself into a socialist nation ruled by law. It is also the most effective way for people to air their grievances and maintain impartiality and justice.

To this end, the country should try to raise people's consciousness that all civil and economic disputes can be resolved through the legal system. At the same time, government and Party departments at various levels should also try to reduce their interventions into this process.

The author is a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

(China Daily 04/07/2011 page8)