The number itself may not indicate much considering the country's huge population and the enormity and variety of administrative management departments. But an insightful study does send the message that China is faring well on the way to its goal of running the country according to the law.

Long-time feudal rule deeply cultivated in people's minds the concept that governments and officials are superior to civilians. Finding fault with a government department was like hitting a rock with an egg, and the result was self-evident.

Even after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, there was no legal channel to deal with administrative disputes. Individuals resorted to writing letters of complaint or visited higher-level Communist Party and government departments to solve their problems.

An objective solution was hardly guaranteed and everything was subject to individuals' personal will.

Groundbreaking change came in 1991 when the Administrative Procedure Law was implemented. In a real sense, individuals and administrative organizations were put on the same level in the courts.

It is unrealistic to require administrative departments to perform their duties perfectly but it is essential that there be a legal instrument to hold them responsible for their performance.

Administrative organizations that are found to have been derelict in their duties, abused of power or acted against legal or administrative procedures can all be brought to court.

Among the concluded administrative litigation cases, the plaintiff won 71.39 percent of cases last year, compared to 64.07 percent in 1998. This increase should be convincing enough to disperse people's worries that judicial departments tend to act in favor of local governments.

The increasing number of administrative disputes is also a clear indication that people's sense of citizenship and awareness of how they can protect their own rights and interests with the law are being further enhanced.

China is embarking on the road to building an overall well-off society. An important part of that is a higher level of political civilization. Progress in the legal field is an important indication that the country is advancing in the right direction.

(China Daily February 21, 2003)