PETITIONERS' FRUSTRATION HIGHLIGHTS CENTRAL-LOCAL

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 003005

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/04/2033
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI KOLY CH
SUBJECT: PETITIONERS' FRUSTRATION HIGHLIGHTS CENTRAL-LOCAL
RIVALRIES ON EVE OF OLYMPICS

REF: A. BEIJING 2839

B. BEIJING 2592

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson. Reasons
1.4 (b) and (d).


Summary
--------------


1. (C) In response to several recent episodes of local
unrest, the Chinese Government issued regulations July 24
threatening administrative punishment, including dismissal,
for officials who fail to handle correctly citizens'
petitions to higher levels of government to redress perceived
injustices inflicted by lower-level officials. The
regulations also include, for the first time, punishment for
inappropriately using police to deal with public opposition
to local government policies. Hong Kong media reports claim
that the Central Government has instructed local authorities
to prevent petitioners from coming to Beijing during the
Olympics. A Beijing newspaper editor reports that his paper
is getting numerous calls from would-be petitioners who have
been sent home from Beijing or blocked from coming.
Officials from the Ministry of Supervision claim that no such
restrictions exist and that the State Letters and Complaints
Bureau will remain open through the Olympics. These
officials state however, that petitioners coming to Beijing
is "not normal" and that complaints should be dealt with
locally. Contacts say local officials may be motivated to
cover up problems and block petitioners because of the
enhanced prospect of punishment under the new regulations.
End Summary.

New Regulations Punish Mishandling of Petitions
-------------- --


2. (SBU) In the wake of several recent nd highly publicized
"mass incidents" blamed n the failure of local authorities
to properly handle local disputes, including the Weng'an
riots in Guizhou, the murder of six policemen in Shanghai,
and a rubber plantation dispute in Yunnan (refs A-B),the
Central Government issued regulations July 24 to "promote
social harmony and stability." The regulations, issued
jointly by the Ministry of Supervision, the Ministry of Human
Resources and Social Security, and the State Letters and
Complaints Bureau, spell out administrative punishments for
officials who "violate rules for handling petitions" or who
fail to protect the "legitimate rights and interests of
petitioners." Disciplinary measures include "warning,
serious demerit, demotion, removal from office, or
dismissal," for officials at all levels. Articles 5-10 of
the regulations provide detail about what "situations" would
lead to discipline, including "simplistic and brutal" work
style, "abuse of power," refusing to handle important
petitions, cheating, fabricating information and actions that
lead to a "big social impact." Significantly, the new
regulations list as causes for punishment, for the first
time, "misusing police" and "using weapons in violations of
regulations" when dealing with mass incidents. Several
recent articles in the official media have criticized the use
of police to enforce local government policy, claiming this
practice is a key cause of social instability (ref B).

Petitioners Blocked from Coming to Beijing
--------------


3. (SBU) Authorities are stepping up efforts to keep
petitioners out of Beijing during the Olympics. Hong Kong
media claim that Beijing demanded that local governments stop
petitioners from coming to Beijing starting on July 10 and
extending through the Olympics. (Note: The summer Olympics
run August 8-24; the Paralympics September 6-17.) The
PRC-affiliated Hong Kong magazine Phoenix Weekly cited a
retired judicial official, who was contracted by a local
government to convince petitioners to return home, as saying
that the Central Government ordered provincial governments to
"reduce petitioning to a minimum" during the Olympics. The
retiree claimed that local officials will do "whatever it
takes" to stop petitioners during the Games and will use an
"unprecedented amount of personnel" to accomplish the task.


4. (C) Wang Wen (protect),editor of the International Forum
page of the People's Daily-owned Global Times (Huanqiu
Shibao),told PolOff on July 31 that many people from the
provinces expect that the Central Government will be "more
open" during the Olympics and therefore feel that this is an
opportune time to make their case. Wang said that the mood

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of the common people has soured in recent weeks, in part
because of the inability to petition for redress. He
reported that his newspaper has received numerous calls on
the issue. One in particular, from an angry caller from
Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei Province, said he and some
others were blocked from traveling to Beijing and demanded to
know if Global Times was willing to report on this story.
Wang related that he confessed to the caller that the media
is restricted from reporting on such issues.

Petitioners' Cautionary Tales
--------------


5. (C) PolOff spoke July 31 with Xu Meizhen (protect),a
petitioner from Dazhou, Sichuan Province, who arrived in
Beijing in March to seek compensation for a botched surgery
she underwent in 2005. Xu said most petitioners have been
forcibly sent back to their hometowns and the few who remain
cannot find lodging. Xu said she had recently seen a group
of (ethnic Han) petitioners from Xinjiang detained in Beijing
and forced into a police vehicle that appeared to belong to
the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau. "We must hide in one
place one night and another place the next night," she said.
Xu said she avoids arrest by dressing well so as not to "look
like a poor petitioner." Hours prior to meeting PolOff, Xu
said she received a call from Dazhou officials informing her
that the hospital is willing to discuss a settlement if she
returns to Sichuan. Xu, however, believes this is just a
ruse to get her to leave Beijing.


6. (C) Xu said that during the Olympics she will avoid the
State Letters and Complaints Bureau, which has become a trap
for unwary petitioners. The office is open, Xu said, but
those who enter the office are detained and then forcibly
returned home. "You can go in, but you won't come out," she
said. Sun Chuihua, the wife of Beijing-based democracy
activist Liu Junhua, told PolOff July 31 that she went to the
State Letters and Complaints Bureau July 24 to demand the
Government pay for an operation to fix a leg injury Liu
suffered several years ago. Sun said that after she handed
in her petition security officers prevented her from leaving
on her own, forced her into a car, and drove her back to her
Beijing apartment. Sun showed PolOff a form letter she
received during the incident that said her petition would be
forwarded to Beijing municipal authorities.

Ministry of Supervision Denies Restrictions
--------------


7. (C) Cai Wei and Zhou Congyuan, two officials in the
Ministry of Supervision (MOS) Foreign Affairs Office, in a
meeting with PolOffs on July 24 denied that there are
restrictions on petitioners during the Olympics. Cai said
that the MOS, which is the government agency that corresponds
to the Communist Party's Central Discipline and Inspection
Commission, has its own petition office dealing with
complaints related to corruption, and this office, as well as
the State Letters and Complaints Bureau, will remain open
through the Olympics. In a follow-up conversation on August
1, Zhou said that official commentary connected to the July
24 regulations includes mention of restrictions on local
officials' authority to block petitioners' efforts to report
to higher levels, including to Beijing. (Note: An informal
Embassy review of the regulations did not turn up a direct
reference to the issue of preventing or blocking petitioners
coming to Beijing. The regulations do state that censure is
appropriate if a local leader conceals an "important or
urgent petition," falsifies information, delays the reporting
process, or instructs another person to do so.)


8. (C) MOS' Cai Wei commented that the phenomenon of
petitioners traveling to Beijing is "not normal" and that the
Central Government wants local officials to handle local
matters locally. At a minimum, petitions must be reviewed
locally before appeals are made directly to Beijing. Cai
commented that some localities are holding open houses to
allow local petitioners to take their complaints directly to
local officials. Other localities have begun to use a sort
of "mobile complaint office" that can travel through an area
to hear complaints. Cai admitted that many problems exist,
but said that the Chinese Government is trying to allow
increased "popular supervision" of officials through the
petition process.

Petition Issue Highlights Center-Local Tension
-------------- -


9. (C) Contacts say that the new petition regulations reflect

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tension between the Center and local governments. Wang Wen
told PolOff that the tensest societal relationship in China
is not between the people and the Government but between the
Center and local governments. The main goal of President
Hu's "harmonious society" policy is to rectify the
Center-local relationship. Wang said that Hu's focus on
social stability includes elements of coercive power, which
local governments routinely employ, and an emphasis on
effective and responsive government, which is harder for the
locals to master. In this light, Wang said, local officials
are very concerned about consequences should complaints about
their performance reach the Center. He suggested that the
new regulations, with more explicit punishments, may
exacerbate the problem by increasing local officials'
incentive to cover up problems.


10. (C) Jin Canrong, a Professor at Beijing's Renmin
University, said that local governments have recently been
given greater responsibility by the Center for maintaining
social stability, but have not been given any more resources
and are still expected to maintain high economic growth.
Many development projects are bound to encounter popular
opposition. Jin said there is a new popular saying in China
that there are two good people and two bad people. The good
people are Premier Wen Jiabao and President Hu Jintao and the
bad people are the County Chief and the County Party
Secretary. Jin commented that Wen and Hu have become very
popular by showing concern for the common people, but the
people now mistakenly believe that bringing problems to Wen
or Hu's attention will guarantee a solution.
RANDT