The forensics professor, Sun Dongdong, made a statement saying that at least 99% of those who petition the government are mentally ill and supported forced hospitalization for their symptoms, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal.

The comments created unrest among a group of 40 petitioners, who gathered around Peking University's West gate and demanded to be let in to confront Dr. Sun. They were turned away by campus security.

This comment comes in the wake of an order by Beijing officials to city, county and township level administrators to step up efforts to hear petitioners. As reported by the AP, local officials "should warmly receive the people, patiently listen to their appeals with compassion and responsibility, and make all efforts to solve their problems."

The petitioning system in China has roots that stem all the way back to imperial times, when people would come from far and wide to the emperor and ask for his help on local issues.  This tradition carries on to this very day, but the system itself is inefficient and perilous.  The central government in Beijing grades local officials on the amount of petitions it receives from citizens in the areas they govern.  This leads local officials, who tend to take their own progress within the party much more seriously than the progress of the people whom they govern, to prevent petitions by whatever means possible.  

This order from Beijing to listen to petitioners' problems will most likely have little effect, as there is no mention of any penalties or incentives to follow it. Furthermore, any complaints against the failure to follow this order will most likely suffer the same fate as the petitioners. The petitioning system itself is the main cause of the problems that surround it.  The overwhelming problem of corruption within the government creates an environment that is not safe for the petitioners.  With Beijing deep in efforts to prosecute corruption around the country, relatively few officials a year actually are convicted.  Often, even those who are prosecuted receive very little, if any, punishment for their illegal actions.

Recently more and more petitioners have started to come to Beijing to report grievances. However many local officials have turned to illegal methods to prevent them from doing so, using "black prisons" and mental hospitals to keep the petitioners from making it to Beijing.

The issue of "black prisons" stems from the fact that if a formal complaint is successfully filed against a local official, it is a blemish on the official's bureaucratic record which could affect his future career in the government. This "zero tolerance" policy for petition officials are driving local officials to aggressively thwart petitioners by sending them to "black prisons". In these unofficial jails, there have been reports of petitioners who were seized, beaten, deprived of food and sent back to their home province. A few cases have even been fatal.

This issue was recently spotlighted during the most recent session of the National People's Congress, when there was an influx of citizens seeking redress by issuing formal complaints at petition offices. The police in Beijing have been accused of "turning a blind eye" to the abuses and have not helped to punish those involved. The amount of money and energy that local officials are using toward preventing the petitioners should be used to actually address the problems. The zero tolerance policy is not directly confronting the deeper social concerns of the petition issue, as "it merely results in a superficial reduction in petition numbers to satisfy inspection-oriented targets." The present system is infringing on the rights of the petitioners and negatively affecting the development of the state. Until this policy is amended and the pressure on petitioners is lifted, the evasion of actual solutions to the petitions may cause more serious problems for China in the future.

It is not hard to see then why the comment made by Professor Sun Dongdong resulted in such a backlash. While China has been moving towards better accountability in its government and promoting its petitioning system, the lack of control over local officials has been a hindrance to the process. Their use of "black prisons" for petitioners is illegal and stifles the process to a great degree. Lack of investigation or recognition into these institutions has plagued the petitioning system.

The comments by Sun are just another reason for unrest over the issue. While he has issued a formal apology, stating that he meant 99% of protesters he had actually met, and that mental illness is a lot broader than most people realize, the protesters are still not pleased. He also stated that he hoped the petitioners would be able to go through legal channels to solve their issues. Some students at Peking University have called for his resignation, and a group of petitioners in Shanghai are filing a defamation suit. It is sure that the unrest may be directed at Sun because he is an easier target than the officials who are targeting them. Although the petition system may not be done away with as it has been a part of Chinese society for so long, the continual unrest and attention to the problems of the corruption that go along with it may lead to modifications for a more efficient and just system.