Six people from Southwest China's Guizhou Province who had recently attempted suicide by consuming pesticide in downtown Beijing were arrested on Friday for disturbing public order, Beijing's public security authorities revealed.

The incident triggered an outcry online. Most people showed sympathy for them, whom they believed must have endured injustice back in their hometown, and only resorted to central authorities after being turned down by local institutions.

Public discontent with the inefficient petition system has long been an issue and similar scenes have constantly occurred. Earlier this month, more than 30 taxi drivers from Heilongjiang Province attempted suicide in Wangfujing, Beijing's major shopping area, after drinking pesticide to protest the restrictive rules on taxi leasing. In July last year, seven people from the rural area of Sihong county, Jiangsu Province, adopted the same method, consuming pesticide outside a newspaper compound in Beijing to protest against illegal land seizures in their hometown and the unfair treatment they received during their past petitions to the local government.

The public's support for petitioners has served as a double-edged sword. Indeed, there are loopholes in China's petition system. In April last year, the State Bureau for Letters and Calls issued a regulation stipulating that petitioners are not allowed to bypass authorities to file their complaints, a move aimed at encouraging local authorities to handle local cases properly. Yet these recent incidents demonstrate that the regulation has not been fully implemented.

The public's support has helped warn local authorities that they should fulfill their duties and treat petitioners with justice. However, such support can be abused by those who intend to make things worse in the name of seeking justice. Desperate petitioners may resort to illegal or extreme means to get their demands heard, sometimes even at the cost of sacrificing their own lives.

Petitioners only constitute a small portion of society, which cares about social justice and the interests of the vulnerable, but the pain of the long petition process can spread. The petition system was supposed to be a complementary approach to safeguard people's rights when China's rule of law was not mature. As the country advances toward the rule of law, the petition system shouldn't be a burden to the public's expectation of a healthy society or the government's task to maintain social stability.

The authority of local governments is the foundation of the credibility of the central government. The petition system, which is supposed to generate government credibility, should continue its reforms without falling short of public expectations. Meanwhile, the public should encourage petitioners to adopt legal means when voicing their support.