Premier Wen Jiabao paid a rare visit to the country's top complaints body in a surprise bid to woo petitioners and ease escalating social tension fuelled by corruption, injustice and a widening wealth gap.
Xinhua and state television said Wen's visit on Monday was the first time since the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 that a premier had talked to petitioners in Beijing.
Despite its economic success, the mainland has seen soaring dissatisfaction and unrest in the past few years, with large numbers of petitioners flocking to the capital. Although Beijing has tried to stop petitioners from visiting the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, those who feel their grievances are not properly dealt with by their local authorities still travel to the capital to take their complaints to higher officials or vent their anger in increasingly violent ways.
Petitioners are increasingly viewed by local officials as constant threats to stability. They are usually rounded up in Beijing and sent home or held in illicit 'black jails'.
Analysts said Wen's visit showed the extent of a looming social crisis on the mainland, marked by widespread discontent across society and the lack of an effective channel to voice dissatisfaction.
China Central Television broadcast footage of Wen meeting petitioners from Tianjin , Jilin , Shandong , Inner Mongolia , Hubei , Hebei , Shanxi and Jiangsu . He listened to their grievances and problems.