New Shijiazhuang petition rules

Petitioners from Shijiazhuang, the capital of North China's Hebei province, are forbidden to petition at Tiananmen Square, the leadership compound of Zhongnanhai, districts in Beijing where foreign embassies are located, and other important sites, said a local police statement.

Petitioners from Shijiazhuang, who provoke public disorder by circulating fliers or holding banners in public places, could face administrative penalties if they violate rules formulated by the Shijiazhuang police.

Such petitioners could also face criminal liability if their behavior constitutes crimes, the Shijiazhuang-based Yanzhao Evening News reported on Sunday.

The guidelines warn petitioners against illegally gathering outside government agencies and placing wreaths, images or bodies of deceased people outside the letters and calls offices and blocking traffic outside government departments.

Local police at a petitioner's residential area are tasked with handling petitions.

Shijiazhuang police also said methods to deal with petitioners at the local level must include the careful use of weapons so that conflict is not aggravated.

"Behaviors like holding banners in public places should be banned as they affect other people and cause public disorder," Dong Shaomou, a law professor at the Northwest University of Politics and Law, told the Global Times.

In decisions released by the Communist Party of China Central Committee on November 15 following a key plenum, a pledge to reform the petitioning system was announced.

Authorities are required to respond to and terminate petition cases through legal procedures.

A system for online petitioning is also in the offing in a bid to settle people's cases timely and at the local level.

China plans to abolish the policy that links performance of local government officials to the number of petitioners from that area appealing in the country's capital, a move seen by many analysts as an important step to enhance social justice.

The Party has also abolished the re-education through labor system where petitioners were often detained.

While people had anticipated the reform, recent guidelines from Shijiazhuang police disappointed many as some Internet users saw the punishment as "a way to stifle public complaints."

Wang Fu, a lawyer with the Beijing King & Bond Law Firm, told the Global Times that the guidelines have "little legal basis" and worries that such regulations may violate people's right to air opinions and make complaints.

"It is inappropriate to grant the police from Shijiazhuang the power to punish these people because legally, the Shijiazhuang police have no jurisdiction over petitioning activities in other cities," said Wang, adding that petitioners should also act rationally and obey laws while making appeals.

"At present, cases in China go through two levels of courts. However, when results from the two trials differ, people may not feel satisfied and resort to petitioning," said Dong, adding that a third-tier trial system can be adopted to further reduce the number of petitions.