Theoretical Analysis And Institutional Construction Of Third Party Participation In Letters And Visits Governance

The evolutionary track of the petition system closely conforms to the different historical development stages of Chinese society.After the reform and opening up,the orientation of work concerning letters and calls at the national level changed from social mobilization to social governance;normalizing behavior and maintaining order thereof has been the focus of work concerning letters and calls since then.The tension and stress thereof at the institutional level,the complexity of petition matters and the insufficiency of working office for letters and calls have led to the governance plight and the opportunistic characteristics of work concerning letters and calls.Changing the traditional mode of work concerning letters and calls by introducing third-party forces to reach cooperative governance with government departments for letters and visits is a desirable option.The third party has multiple functions like promoting communication between government and citizens,providing professional knowledge and work skills,as well as assisting government in making public decisions.Under the background of legalization reform of letters and calls,the third-party participation practices and reflects the principle of joint contribution and shared benefit,realizing organic combination between the rule of law theory and the governance theory.Minhang District of Shanghai has carried out leading and beneficial explorations in third-party participation of petition governance.Legal workers,social organizations and their staff have assisted the petition departments with solving a large number of matters of letters and calls based on their respective professional advantages,and the legality level of work concerning letters and calls has been further enhanced in Minhang District.However,the defects in standardization and institutionalization of the thirdparty participation mechanism not only limit the role of third party,but also have a negative impact on the long-term stable development of this mechanism itself.Based on this reflection,it is necessary to clarify the role of the petition department and the third party,making clear the obligation of the former as a platform builder,long-term mechanism builder and service buyer,while maintaining the neutrality of the thirdparty status.In addition,it is important to strengthen the interface between different third-party entities for complementary advantages and maintain openness of third-party scope to satisfy the new requirements in new stage.The third-party participation in petition governance is a way of forming collaborative governance relationship among state,society and individual,and this process must be implemented under the rule of law.