Today on the net: China launches its online petitioning platform; web users react to the Prism scandal with sarcasm and satire; and an enchanting look at the San Francisco fog. <br />China launches online petition site <br />The government of China launched an online platform on Monday to accept petitions from its citizens. But as the new website encountered some technical hitches and crashed on its first day, many web users are wondering about how efficient the site, which is hoped to modernize the petitioning system in China, will actually turn out to be.<br />The system itself dates back to imperial times and is designed to allow the state to listen to citizens’ complaints and grievances. Citizens will only petition higher level bureaus in the capital, if their issues cannot be resolved by their local, lower level provincial or town authorities. Most complaints are about forced evictions or corruption, but very few come to anything, and petitioners are often assaulted before being sent home, or to prison…<br />The new petitioning platform has been met with mixed reactions on social networks in China. Some, like this cartoonist, are concerned the site requires people to register their personal details and fear that petitioners could face retribution from the authorities.<br />Others think the platform is simply a pale copy of the White House’s “We The People” petitioning platform, which over the past few months has been inundated with petitions from Chinese citizens demanding, amongst other things, the US extradite a Chinese woman suspected of attempted murder.&... Go on reading on our web site.<br />http://www.france24.com/en/taxonomy/emission/18008<br /><br />Visit our website:<br />http://www.france24.com<br /><br />Subscribe to our YouTube channel:<br />http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=france24english<br /><br />Like us on Facebook:<br />https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English<br /><br />Follow us on Twitter:<br />https://twitter.com/France24_en
