China's petitioning system goes online

China wants to encourage citizens to lodge petitions online instead of taking them directly to officials, Reuters reported. The plan comes as the government seeks to bring order to an often chaotic and abusive system. The State Bureau of Letters and Calls stated on Thursday that petitioners would be much better served by the online system, which will allow people to track their cases and provide feedback on the system. Zhang Enxi, an assistant head of the bureau, said, “This system will place the handling of cases under the supervision of the people.”