National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration

{{Infobox government agency

| agency_name = National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration

| nativename = {{nobold|{{lang|zh-hans|国家信访局}}}}

| nativename_a =

| nativename_r = {{small|Guójiā Xìnfǎngjú}}

| seal =

| seal_width =

| seal_caption =

| logo =

| logo_width =

| logo_caption =

| image = National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration (20211007144216).jpg

| image_caption = Headquarters of the Bureau

| formed = 13 February 2000

| headquarters = Xicheng, Beijing, China

| employees =

| budget =

| chief1_name = Li Wenzhang

| chief1_position = Director

| chief2_name =

| chief2_position =

| parent_agency = State Council

| child1_agency =

| child2_agency =

| website = {{Official URL}}

| footnotes =

}}

The National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration ({{lang-zh|国家信访局}}) is a deputy-cabinet level agency directly under the State Council of China. It is the national ombudsman office of the People's Republic of China.

The office has its roots in the Bureau of Letters and Calls, founded in 1977 under the General Office of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). A State Council equivalent was established in 1980, and both offices were merged in 1986. Further reforms led to the establishment of the National Bureau of Letters and Calls in 2000, which assumed its current name in 2016.

The office is responsible for hearing public complaints and proposals against various levels of government agencies nationwide. It is under the leadership of the Society Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee since March 2023. The current director of NPCPA is Li Wenzhang, one of the Deputy Secretary-General of the State Council.

History

In 1977, the Bureau of Letters and Calls ({{lang-zh|中央办公厅信访局}}) was founded under the CCP General Office in order to overhaul the petitioning system of China.{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Stella |date=20 May 2022 |title=Petitioning |url=https://chinamediaproject.org/the_ccp_dictionary/petitioning/ |access-date=6 September 2023 |website=China Media Project}}{{Cite journal |last=Tang |first=Xiaotian |date=2010-03-01 |title=Reforms in the petition letter and visit system of China and construction of a harmonious society |journal=Frontiers of Law in China |language=en |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=77–90 |doi=10.1007/s11463-010-0004-5 |issn=1673-3541 |s2cid=154003316}} This was followed by the establishment of the Bureau of Letters and Calls of the General Office of the State Council ({{lang-zh|国务院办公厅信访局}}) in 1980. In 1986, both offices were merged, and further reforms led to the creation of the National Bureau of Letters and Calls in 2000, which was renamed to the National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration in English in 2016.

In 2023, the Administration was placed directly under the State Council as part of the plan on reforming Party and state institutions, previously being subordinate to its General Office. It was also placed under the "unified leadership" of the newly established Society Work Department of the CCP.{{Cite web |title=中共中央国务院印发《党和国家机构改革方案》_中国经济网——国家经济门户 |url=http://www.ce.cn/cysc/newmain/yc/jsxw/202303/16/t20230316_38447603.shtml |access-date=2023-03-16 |website=Economic Daily}}

Functions

The National Public Complaints and Proposals Administration is the main petitioning office of China, responsible for hearing public complaints and proposals against various levels of government agencies nationwide.{{Cite web |date=2017-08-23 |title=Fewer Chinese citizens filing petitions against government |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2107944/fewer-chinese-citizens-filing-petitions-against |access-date=2019-06-04 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en |archive-date=2019-06-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604080822/https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2107944/fewer-chinese-citizens-filing-petitions-against |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |date=2017-04-11 |title=Corruption at top rung of China's ancient petition system sparks calls for reform |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-petitioners-idUSKBN17D0QR |access-date=2019-06-04}} In addition to the national level, the agency includes provincial, city and county-level offices.