1.0China Media Projecthttps://chinamediaproject.orgStella Chenhttps://chinamediaproject.org/author/stella-chen/rich600338<blockquote class="wp-embedded-content" data-secret="96jpjuf7ED"><a href="https://chinamediaproject.org/the_ccp_dictionary/petitioning/">Petitioning</a></blockquote><iframe sandbox="allow-scripts" security="restricted" src="https://chinamediaproject.org/the_ccp_dictionary/petitioning/embed/#?secret=96jpjuf7ED" width="600" height="338" title="“Petitioning” — China Media Project" data-secret="96jpjuf7ED" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" class="wp-embedded-content"></iframe><script type="text/javascript"> /*! This file is auto-generated */ !function(c,d){"use strict";var e=!1,o=!1;if(d.querySelector)if(c.addEventListener)e=!0;if(c.wp=c.wp||{},!c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage)if(c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if(t)if(t.secret||t.message||t.value)if(!/[^a-zA-Z0-9]/.test(t.secret)){for(var r,a,i,s=d.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),n=d.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret="'+t.secret+'"]'),o=0;o<n.length;o++)n[o].style.display="none";for(o=0;o<s.length;o++)if(r=s[o],e.source===r.contentWindow){if(r.removeAttribute("style"),"height"===t.message){if(1e3<(i=parseInt(t.value,10)))i=1e3;else if(~~i<200)i=200;r.height=i}if("link"===t.message)if(a=d.createElement("a"),i=d.createElement("a"),a.href=r.getAttribute("src"),i.href=t.value,i.host===a.host)if(d.activeElement===r)c.top.location.href=t.value}}},e)c.addEventListener("message",c.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),d.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded",t,!1),c.addEventListener("load",t,!1);function t(){if(!o){o=!0;for(var e,t,r,a=-1!==navigator.appVersion.indexOf("MSIE 10"),i=!!navigator.userAgent.match(/Trident.*rv:11\./),s=d.querySelectorAll("iframe.wp-embedded-content"),n=0;n<s.length;n++){if(!(r=(t=s[n]).getAttribute("data-secret")))r=Math.random().toString(36).substr(2,10),t.src+="#?secret="+r,t.setAttribute("data-secret",r);if(a||i)(e=t.cloneNode(!0)).removeAttribute("security"),t.parentNode.replaceChild(e,t);t.contentWindow.postMessage({message:"ready",secret:r},"*")}}}}(window,document); </script> https://chinamediaproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/CMP-dictionary-PETITIONING.jpg22001238Petitioning, or xinfang (信访), which literally translates as “letters and visits,” is a system dating back under the Chinese Communist Party to 1949 that essentially allows Chinese to lodge complaints with the government and seek redress for wrongs, flaws and inefficiencies. The practice has much deeper roots as well within China’s dynastic history, when it took various forms. In early 2022, the government introduced an amended Regulation on Complaints and Letters (信访工作条例) that pledged to “improve the quality and efficiency of handling initial letters and visits,” but also vowed to deal with “cross-level petitioning” (越级上访), raising the question of whether complaints from citizens might become mired in the local jurisdictions that originated their problems.