A public legal aid center has been established this week in Chushur county of Lhasa, capital of the Tibet autonomous region, becoming the region's first county-level legal aid institute and marking a new step in constructing legal aid institutions.

Making such efforts is part of the region's implementation of the Legal Aid Law of the People's Republic of China, and to standardize the establishment of legal aid institutions, said Jamyang Champa, deputy head of the judicial bureau of the Chushur county.

"As the first county-level public legal aid institution in the region, we will work to build a new public legal service platform, and then continue to enhance the professional standard of legal services in the county," said Jamyang Champa.

"We will establish a long-term mechanism to improve the quality of legal services, and try to be a leading force in maintaining social harmony and stability, and thus achieving long-term stability in our county," he said.

China's top leadership vowed to develop a modern public legal service system that covers both urban and rural populations, and carry out intensive activities to raise public awareness of the rule of law.

Among the country's efforts is the Legal Aid Law, which took effect on Jan 1, 2022, and it makes clear regulations on the establishment of legal aid institutions, requiring judicial administrative organs at or above the county level to establish legal aid institutions.

The center in the county is aimed to provide public welfare legal services to people who have legal service needs, trying to ensure their legitimate rights and interests.

In recent years, there is the increasing demand for legal aid from the public, and cases related to the vital interests of disadvantaged groups such as wage arrears, or work, food and drug safety accidents have been included in the scope of legal aid.

Official statistics reflect that in 2022, judicial organs in Tibet provided more than 40,800 free consultation visits, accepted more than 5,000 legal aid cases, and redeemed and retrieved over 71 million yuan ($10 million) of economic losses for recipients.

He Yongfang, from Shandong province, is one of the latest beneficiaries of the center. A company in the county has been defaulting on her salary totaling 180,000 yuan since 2018 because the company went bankrupt, and she has requested help from the center recently, and the case is now under processing procedures.

"I want to express my sincere thanks to the center for providing me with legal aid. They have assigned lawyers to provide one-on-one services for me, which truly enabled me to feel the strong support and real benefits," He was quoted as saying by Lhasa Fabu, Lhasa's official WeChat account.

By PALDEN NYIMA in Lhas