NPC Chairman Concerns Himself with Letters from Masses

As I conveniently opened each of the letters from the masses at the Petition-Letter Bureau under the General Office of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), I found on the margin of the letter paper instructions written personally by Chairman Li Peng, some places were marked out with pens of different colors.

These letters from various parts of the country have brought forth strings of endless stories.

Around 20,000 Letters Received in One Year

The Petition-Letter Bureau is an agency under the General Office of the NPC Standing Committee, which specializes in handling letters and visits from the people. There are around 70,000 letters and visits each year, some 60,000 of which being letters. Contents of these letters concern different aspects of society, for instance, opinions and suggestions offered on the construction of democracy and legal system and reports on corruption, judicial unfairness and social security.

Chairman Li Peng pays close attention to the work related to letters and visits from the people. He has, on different occasions, repeatedly stated that doing the petition-letter work well provides an avenue for the NPC to establish links with the masses. He gave the following written instructions on the summary work report submitted by the Petition-Letter Bureau: Which read, "You've done a great deal of work to bring closer ties between the NPC Standing Committee and the masses of the people, I hope you'll further sum up experiences, perfect the petition-letter system and do your work well in accordance with legal procedures." Acting on these instructions, the Petition-Letter Bureau has further improved the original system and formulated more than 10 additional rules and regulations concerning letters and visits from the people, as a result, the petition-letter work has become more standardized and institutionalized.

Among the numerous letters received by said Bureau, around 20,000 are written directly to Chairman Li Peng each year. Owing to busy work, it is impossible for the Chairman to go over all these letters, but excerpts of these letters are sent on time to Chairman Li every week who invariably reads them over and promptly gives remarks. With respect to letters reflecting major issues, they will be transmitted to relevant departments for studies and treatment.

On October 26, last year, Chairman Li Peng received a letter from a primary school teacher in a certain county, accusing a township cadre of illegally detaining and beating him to injury. Li Peng asked leaders of Jiangxi Province to investigate and handle the matter and leaders of the NPC Judicial Committee to supervise the handling of the matter. The provincial government instructed relevant regions and department to investigate the case and make sure of its implementation and decide on its treatment within a short period of time.

To deal with the problem concerning NPC deputies suspected of being involved in crimes as reflected in letters from some localities, Li Peng gave this instruction: If the case proves to be true through investigation, it should be dealt with seriously. NPC deputies and NPC Standing Committee members should all be law-abiding models.

"Disafforestation Secretary" Subjected to Investigation and Prosecution

A township Party committee secretary in Shaanxi Province, because of his "disafforestation and selling land" and misappropriation of 1.8 million yuan of special loan for sand control, was called "disafforestation secretary". This very "disafforestation secretary" not only was not investigated and prosecuted, but instead was appointed director of the county forestry bureau. Last year, one thousand or so villagers wrote letters reporting on this strange matter. On August 22 of the same year, Li Peng had the letter transmitted to concerned leaders of Shaanxi Province. In his instruction, the chairman wrote: If the case proves to be true, it should be dealt with severely. The matter concerning destruction of shelter forest must not be brushed aside, at the same time, matters which seriously harm the interests of the masses should also be corrected.

On the basis of investigation, the provincial department concerned recently made a decision on the handling of the matter, it also decided to do a good job in the protection and development of shelter forests, and to remove this director of the forestry bureau from his post.

Dream of a Female Deputy to Provincial People's Congress Comes True

A 24-year-old girl of the She nationality, the youngest deputy to the ninth provincial people's congress, was from the old revolutionary area. After she was elected deputy, she hoped she would have an opportunity for advanced studies, so that she would better perform her responsibility as deputy. Early last year, a letter carrying this good wish of her flew to Beijing's Zhongnanhai, the site of the Party and central government. Addressee: Chairman Li Peng.

She clearly remembers that one day in April last year, the prefectural Party committee secretary paid a special visit to her home and told her: Here is the letter from Chairman Li Peng, so your wish for study has come true. Today whenever she mentions this matter, she is beside herself with excitement. She said: I'm very excited when I hear this happy news. I 'd just wanted to have a try, it's out of my expectation that Chairman Li Peng has really given me a letter of reply. This is not only a happy thing for myself, it also shows the chairman's concern for the masses of the She nationality.

In September last year, she sent out a second letter, which says she had started registering at the judicial school in the province on September 28 and expressed her thanks to Chairman Li Peng. When this reporter got to know her recent situation through telephone, she said she would treasure this rare opportunity, would study hard and be a good people's deputy.

Letter From an Unidentified Grandpa

On the eve of the Spring Festival this year, the Petition-Letter Bureau received a letter of thanks from Shandong. The letter wrote: "Respected and beloved unidentified kind-hearted leader: I don't know how to call you, should I call you grandpa or uncle, uncle or aunt? I've received the letter and money you sent to me. When I receive these, all of my families were moved to tears, My father asked me to immediately write a letter of reply to you, but unfortunately, those were the days for terminal examination, so it was impossible for me to immediately write you a letter in reply, please excuse me." Signature of the letter is a 11-year-old junior middle school girl student.

The whole story of the matter goes like this: On January 3 1999, this girl wrote a letter to grandpa Li Peng, asking for aid. The letter says that last year the farm chemicals her family bought was faked which brought no harvest of potatoes from the five mu (15 mu = one hectare) of farmland and the suffering of heavy losses. The case had been reported repeatedly to the authorities concerned, but no compensation was gained. Having no other choice, her father asked her to discontinue her study. In the letter, she demanded investigating and dealing with this case of doing harm to farmers, and thus returning her the opportunity for study.

After the letter was forwarded to Chairman Li Peng, on February 13, the chairman wrote the instruction that the provincial department concerned investigate and solve the matter. With the concern of relevant leaders of the province, the matter was dealt with in time. In her letter she said that the leading department of the town asked the unit concerned to give her family indemnity of 1,500 yuan with which she had paid the tuition fee. On behalf of all of her families, she expressed thanks for this unidentified leader. She said, "Currently my earnest desire is to be able to know your name and address. I will study hard and hope I would grow up early, in the future when I finish my studying courses and go to work at my post, I would write to you and repay you with the remuneration I gain for the first time." She added, "When my family conditions are improved, I'll definitely invite you to come for sightseeing and tourism." Enclosed in the letter was her own photo as a memento for the unidentified leader.

Although the letter was written to grandpa Li Peng, till now she still does not know that her letter did have been read over and given remarks by grandpa Li Peng.

The host of letters and replies, like colorful silk lines, are woven with dreams filled with true feelings.



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