For a very long time one of the criticisms of the Chinese government has been it's human rights record. The prisons and prisoners were always a concern of the international community. Now, lawyers in China want better opportunity to represent the poor.
I hope the Chinese government takes these dedicated and moral lawyers seriously and establishes funding for representation of all those taken prisoner.
February 15, 2017
By Capo Yin
A lack of defense lawyers (click here) means many people are appearing in court without adequate legal representation. Cao Yin reports.
Lawyers and legal experts are calling on the government to expand the provision of legal aid to a larger number of defendants and provide better funding to encourage more lawyers to accept criminal defense cases.
The ongoing efforts to improve the rule of law have resulted in a number of wrongful convictions being overturned, including that of Chen Man, who was sentenced to 23 years for murder. In February last year, the appeals court ruled that the evidence brought against Chen was circumstantial and that his involvement in the murder could not be proved beyond doubt.
The quashing of Chen's conviction was a boost for his lawyer, Wang Wanqiong. "My job is to play a bigger role in upholding justice," she said.
Following Chen's release, Wang's phone rang continually as people called in the hope of obtaining legal advice or persuading her to defend them in court.
"I could feel the trust the defendants and the judicial officers placed in me, which gave me a real sense of achievement," she said....
