A top Chinese anti-corruption official has warned against detaining whistleblowers, reports said on Wednesday, amid concern that local bureaucrats are derailing Beijing’s efforts to project a graft-busting image.
Chinese citizens with grievances can present their concerns to higher authorities in the form of petitions, a centuries old system of redress that was developed under imperial rule, but many are intercepted before being able to do so. he state-run China Daily newspaper reported Zhang Shaolong, a senior official at the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), as saying that petitioners should receive a warm welcome from anti-corruption agencies. He emphasised that there is a legal channel for petitioners to submit whistleblowing materials face-to-face to the anti-graft authorities, the newspaper said, according to indirect quotes.