National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration

The National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration (Chinese: 国家信访局) is a deputy-cabinet level agency directly under the State Council of China. It is the national ombudsman office of the People's Republic of China.

National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration
国家信访局
Guójiā Xìnfǎngjú

Headquarters of the Bureau
Agency overview
Formed13 February 2000
HeadquartersXicheng, Beijing, China
Agency executive
Parent agencyState Council
Websitewww.gjxfj.gov.cn Edit this at Wikidata

The office has its roots in the Bureau of Letters and Calls, founded in 1977 under the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). A State Council equivalent was established in 1980, and both offices were merged in 1986. Further reforms led to the establishment of the National Bureau of Letters and Calls in 2000, which assumed its current name in 2016.

The office is responsible for hearing public complaints and proposals against various levels of government agencies nationwide. It is under the leadership of the Social Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee since March 2023. The current director of NPCPA is Li Wenzhang, one of the Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council.

History

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In 1977, the Bureau of Letters and Calls (Chinese: 中央办公厅信访局) was founded under the CCP General Office in order to overhaul the petitioning system of China.[1][2] This was followed by the establishment of the Bureau of Letters and Calls of the General Office of the State Council (Chinese: 国务院办公厅信访局) in 1980. In 1986, both offices were merged, and further reforms led to the creation of the National Bureau of Letters and Calls in 2000, which was renamed to the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration in English in 2016.[1]

In 2023, the Administration was placed directly under the State Council, previously being subordinate to its General Office. It was also placed under the "unified leadership" of the newly-established Social Work Department of the CCP.[3]

Functions

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The National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration is the main petitioning office of China, responsible for hearing public complaints and proposals against various levels of government agencies nationwide.[4][5] In addition to the national level, the agency includes provincial, city and county-level offices.[1]

Leadership

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Directors

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Name Chinese name Took office Left office
Zhou Zhanshun 周占顺 July 2000 February 2004
Wang Xuejun 王学军 February 2004 March 2013
Shu Xiaoqin 舒晓琴 April 2013 April 2020
Li Wenzhang 李文章 9 April 2020 Incumbent

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Chen, Stella (20 May 2022). "Petitioning". China Media Project. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
  2. ^ Tang, Xiaotian (2010-03-01). "Reforms in the petition letter and visit system of China and construction of a harmonious society". Frontiers of Law in China. 5 (1): 77–90. doi:10.1007/s11463-010-0004-5. ISSN 1673-3541. S2CID 154003316.
  3. ^ "中共中央 国务院印发《党和国家机构改革方案》_中国经济网——国家经济门户". Economic Daily. Retrieved 2023-03-16.
  4. ^ "Fewer Chinese citizens filing petitions against government". South China Morning Post. 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  5. ^ "Corruption at top rung of China's ancient petition system sparks calls for reform". Reuters. 2017-04-11. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
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