BEIJING, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- China has called for more awareness of the country's major problems raised by those who petition the government, in a bid to create a harmonious atmosphere for the Olympics this summer as well as events to mark the 30th anniversary of opening up and reform. To create a stable social environment for these milestones, local police should visit neighborhoods to resolve difficulties and complaints raised in "letter and visit matters," said Zhu Chunlin, senior official with the Ministry of Public Security (MOPS). China's complaints department, the Xinfang Bureau or bureau for letters and visits, remains the country's busiest office. Statistics show the top bureau and its subsidiaries have handled about 10 million enquiries and complaints a year over the last five years. Letter-or-visit matters should be dealt with according to regulations and laws to safeguard people's lawful rights and serve social justice, according to Zhu, who is the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission under the MOPS. Zhu highlighted the importance of letter-or-visit matters, urging public security departments at all levels, especially cadres, to raise awareness of letter-or-visit matters' importance and ensure people's problems and concerns were properly addressed. Department chiefs would be held directly responsible for receiving letter-or-visit matters, Zhu said. Local public security departments should pay due attention to typical problems and first-time complaints, Zhu said. Typical cases should be taken special care of and destabilizing factors should be eliminated at an early stage to minimize letter-or-visit cases, emphasized Zhu. Zhu also called for better record-keeping in relation to letters and calls from the public. According to statistics released on the official website of the MOPS, in 2007, public security departments at all levels resolved more than 620,000 cases of conflicts and disputes out of 750,000 reported and 45,000 out of the 63,000 letter-or-visit cases were settled.
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