Reform Of China's Petition System Under The Perspective Of Civil Society

The State Bureau for Letters and Calls said that after the peak flow of letters and calls, people's petition showed a downward trend in the past five consecutive years since 2005.Obviously, the phenomenon is closely related to the new "Petition Regulations", the constant improvement of the judiciary, the Chinese governments increasing attention attached to the petition work as well as the enhancing enforcement of administrative laws.However, it is undeniable that the suppression of governments of all levels also contributed to the decreasing result.China's characteristic petition system is a shortcut for Chinese people to seek help from the government. To block the shortcut is to separate the government from the masses. In order to fundamentally solve the problem, a scientific and rational petition system should be set up, only through which can people's calls be heard and difficulties be solved.With the improvement of market economy and the advancing of the political democratization, civil society is gradually springing up and exerting significant influence on China's social and political lives. To out of the plight of petition system reform, we must fully recognize that a strong civil society played an important role in building the second buffer zone for China's development and the establishment of the civil society is the base for the new petition system.Considering the problems existing in petition and the shortcomings of the present petition system, this paper starts from the civil society, analyzing the petition plight and reasons behind the problems, and putting forward ideas for the construction of new petition system.