Feb 13 2008
free legal assistance in xi’an is good for china
The Shanghai Daily had an article about free legal assistance for migrant workers in Xi’an, China. I normally write messages that tend more toward doom and gloom because I am a lawyer–my role is counseling and warning my clients, businesses, and other attorneys. But here is an article that I think is a positive thing, and one that can hopefully become a model in China.
I know in America, Legal Aid is both admired and yet looked down upon by attorneys–a strange apathy–but the idea of Legal Aid in China brings me hope that the rule of law can begin to spread in a society that has been rule of the Party for so long. This is a positive thing ultimately for businesses and society at large. Rule of law is good for businesses and contractual relationships; it is good for development of IP and innovation; and it makes for a society where people can internalize the law rather than listen to what they are told by one central source of authority. (among many other things)
Excerpts of the article ( h/t to CDT):
WITH just three donated computers, two sparsely decorated rooms without central heating, this legal-aid station is underfunded and often crowded with troubled migrant workers.
However, in the northwestern city of Xi’an, migrant workers can now receive free legal assistance.
Many of the migrants’ woes relate to problems about payment defaults and workplace-injury compensation.
Running with a budget of less than 7,000 yuan (US$972) per month, the Xi’an legal-aid station is hailed as a “beacon” for migrant workers by local media which have tracked the station since its formation last year. It is a joint effort by the United Nations Development Program and the All China Lawyers’ Association.
The lawyers have a busy schedule and hold down normal jobs as they shuttle between places like construction sites, hospitals and judicial organizations by bicycle in often freezing temperatures and harsh winds.
Statistics show that from 2005 to the first six months of 2007, legal-aid groups nationwide have helped 263,489 migrant workers, according to the Legal Daily.
Work logs show records of industrial injuries such as fractures, brain damage, amputation and paralysis, and wage arrears that too often happen in the construction and manufacturing sectors.
China has a population of almost 200 million migrant workers who seek a better life off the farm.
Toting their bedrolls from site to site in Xi’an, the migrant workers only earn about 800 yuan a month.
“They often got paid late or never,” said Xi’an legal-aid station lawyer Zhao Bin. Instead of contracts, their jobs often rely on word of mouth from sub-contract bosses who break their promises.
The station recently helped 41 construction workers fight to collect about 90,000 yuan, their half-year earnings for last year. “The work is tougher as they were employed indirectly through sub-contractors or, even worse, via oral promises,” said Zhao.
The Xi’an legal station is one of 15 around the country. The half-million-yuan project is largely funded by the Belgian Embassy and started in February 2007. Tong believes the one-year foreign aid is “timely and important.” He said the station has three to five years before it is self-sufficient.
The only twist is that it is Belgians who are sponsoring this effort. I never expected it, but I see this as a positive thing as it means that other nations and not only America, is concerned about rule of law in China.
Indeed, Legal Aid is good for China, starting from the bottom, where people have no other means available for justice. Hopefully, as more people realize that they can take the legal route instead of going for ??. But that might be hoping for too much.
I hope the legal route grows as an option for most Chinese as well, though my personal feeling is that it will take at least 1 generation until people accept the rule of law and the legal system as the main remedy for problems. It is hard to overcome the current mindset that includes (1) rule of government for a long time now and (2) Chinese people’s penchant for not wanting to air their dirty laundry.