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Police chiefs to meet petitioners face-to-face
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-05-19 00:32
In the next three months, all of the 3,000-strong local Chinese police chiefs
will receive petitioners face to face, aiming to address longsanding accusations
of police abuse within a certain time limit.
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| Shaohua,
Police Chief of Xiamen, East China's Fujian Province talks with local
residents on May 15, 2005. [newsphoto] | It is the first time that so many police chiefs have been required to meet
with petitioners face to face since New China was founded in 1949, sources with
China's Public Security Ministry said.
In Jiangsu Province, east China, all county-level police directors were
required to receive petitioners from May 18 to 22, and 106 policemen were
trained to ensure the qualified handling of letters and visits. In Chengdu,
capital of southwestern China's Sichuan Province, seven leading officials of
public security bureaus on Wednesday met with petitioners, even forgoing their
habitual long noon naps.
"The principle of the campaign is that every petitioner should be received by
the bureau chiefs themselves, and all petitions should be resolved or clearly
explained," said Sun Yongbo spokesperson for the ministry. Police chief are also
asked to organize timely investigations and case reviews, so that petitions can
be solved expeditiously.
East China's Anhui Province tested a pilot program on April 23 in bracing for
the larger campaign. The provincial public security chief, Cui Yadong, signed
contracts with 17 city police heads to ensure the success of solving petitions.
"I felt ashamed when the petitioners granted their sincere thanks to me,
because most their problems could have been solved earlier if our police staff
had paid enough attention," he said.
The petitions submitted to public security organs are a "rain glass" that
indicate China's social stability and a "mirror" reflecting the work of public
security staff, said Sun.
A senior Ministry of Public Security official admitted that to date, a large
number of petitions about police malpractice have not been solved in time,
causing petitioners to rush to higher level public security organs and even
gather in the national capital, Beijing, to air their grievances.
"In the past, some policemen were apathetic and indifferent or turned very
brutal when handling petitions and even went so far as to refuse petitioners,
causing citizens dissatisfaction and a large number of petitions to go
unresolved," said the official.
The revised state regulation on letters and visits, containing new detailed
regulations and requirements on handling petitioners, went into effect on May 1.
The central government has also launched a general nationwide campaign to clear
up all illegal activity among police and judicial staff.
"The new situation demands of the Public Security Ministry urgent resolution
of current problems among policemen and public security organs," said Sun.
According to the ministry, six kinds of petitions will precedeall others in
priority. They comprise petitions on unjust investigations; extracting
confessions through torture; bending the law for the benefit of friends and
relatives; abuse of power severely infringing on people's interests; and illegal
fines.
The ministry has formed a supervisory group for oversight of the program. The
performance of policemen in handling letters and visits from petitioners will be
written into their work assessment records to serve as important information for
their future promotion.
"We hope that all petitioners who have suffered from the malpractice of
policemen or police organs, can take this opportunity to register their
complaints in their hometown police bureaus," said Sun.
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