China News posted an article from the Guangming Daily reporting that tens of thousands of residents went to appeal in the rain when the Guangzhou municipal government held a city-wide public “Petition Day” on June 26, 2008. It was reported that such a large public reception of petitioning residents has never occurred in the whole country before. The problems with regards to which residents appealed were mostly related to housing, social security, and environmental protection. The article commented that the public reception is nevertheless more of a show (by the local government leaders) rather than a practical avenue for solving residents’problems.
Source: China News Agency, June 28, 2008
http://www.chinanews.com.cn/gn/news/2008/06-28/1295767.shtml