For a long time, China’s political system has had the problems of excessive power concentration, power imbalances, and lack of a power constraint according to an article published on the website of Study Times on October 12, 2009. Just as some scholars put it, “In the decades-long period of time after the founding of new China, the actual operation of China’s politics is the administrative system under the leadership of the Party.”
The communications between the Chinese people and their representatives are loose or superficial, resulting in the great amount of political information being forced into the channel of the petition.
At present the petition system is based on the “Petition Regulations,” a law promulgated by the State Council. The petition office has a low legal hierarchy, little power to control, and poor operation capacity, which means that the petition agencies only operate intermittently.
Source: Study Times, October 12, 2009
http://www.studytimes.com.cn/WebPage/ny1.aspx?act=1&id=2981&nid=10812&bid=12&page=1