Beijing - China has vowed to punish officials who cause mass unrest by mishandling public complaints, according to new rules on handling petitions and riots that implicitly acknowledge problems with official misconduct.

With the Chinese government eager to present a national image of prosperous harmony at the Beijing Olympics just two weeks away, Chinese Communist Party leaders launched a massive drive to stifle potential unrest. But a ripple of riots in several parts of the country has exposed continued discontent.

But the rules, issued late on Thursday, are by no means the first promising to stamp out official abuses and protect petitioners' rights, and in practice police and officials face intense pressure to quell potential protest swiftly and harshly.

In June, thousands of residents rioted and torched police and government buildings in Weng'an, Guizhou province, after claims spread that police covered up the rape and murder of a girl.

In another clash over the weekend in Yunnan province, two people were killed when 500 rubber farmers armed with knives fought police, injuring 41 officers.

The rules on handling petitions from aggrieved citizens threaten demerit, demotion or dismissal for officials who 'gravely harm the public's interests, sparking major problems in petitioning or mass incidents'.

'Mass incidents' is an official euphemism for protests and riots.

Officials who 'violate laws and regulations in using police force to handle mass incidents, misuse police equipment or coercive measures or violate procedures about carrying and using weapons' also face punishment, state the rules issued by state media and on the central government website (http://www.gov.cn).

Visiting state 'petitions and visits' offices in provincial capitals and Beijing has for decades offered a rare channel for ordinary people to vent complaints.

Nationwide, petition visits grew from 4.8 million in 1995 to 12.7 million in 2005 - dwarfing the 4 million new civil cases heard by courts that year. The government says that since then petitions have declined, but has not released numbers.

The latest rules warn officials against delay in addressing petitions, 'exacerbating conflict and causing severe repercussions'. They also warn against hiding and misreporting petitions.

Beijing law professor Xu Zhiyong who is also a rights advocate who has studied the petitioning system, said the announcement suggested central leaders were seeking to head off worse clashes.

'The feature of these regulations is that they stress the responsibilities of government officials, not petitioners. That's a step forward,' said Prof Xu.

'I think this is a response to the violent incidents of the past few months. They're worried that local officials are just making matters worse by arbitrarily using force.'

Ahead of the Olympics opening on Aug 8, police have been blocking petitioners seeking to reach Beijing and detaining many who have made it to the national capital. -- REUTERS