Zhai Yuhua is a delegate from central China's Hunan Province. He is a lawyer and head of the Tiandiren Law Firm.

Zhai firmly believes that in order to build a developed society subject to the rule of law it is necessary to give adequate protection to the rights and interests of vulnerable members of society. He devotes much of his time to disadvantaged groups and is always ready to offer help. Over the last 10 years, he has assisted underprivileged people in some 200 cases, recovering economic losses of millions of yuan for them.

In February 2004, Zhai was offered a voluntary post as the director of a provincial-level legal aid center set up with the aim of supporting the climate for much-needed economic development in Hunan Province. He knew that if he took this on, he would have to spend a good deal of his time and energy providing legal aid to organizations and individuals without pay. Zhai accepted the appointment without hesitation.

A month later, Zhai was contacted for help by Panpan Security Industries Co. Ltd. They said that a city-level Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau was imposing illegal conditions on the company. Despite the challenges the case would be sure to involve, he went to the city right away to investigate. After considering the case carefully Zhai gave his legal opinion, the Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau was in the wrong and should reverse its decision. But the bureau was not willing to change and threatened to take the case to court. Zhai resisted all the pressures. With the substantial evidence he had gathered, he was able to persuade the provincial-level Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau to intervene. As a result, Panpan avoided a loss of over 1 million yuan (US$150,000). Impressed and encouraged with the help they had received in Hunan, the company went on to spend 80 million yuan (US$10.5 million) building a factory in the province.

In the three and a half years since its establishment, the legal aid center has provided free legal consultations involving over 4,650 visits by organizations and individuals, handled approximately 200 complaints and offered 185 legal opinions. Most of this work has been done by Zhai himself either on his own or with the help of his assistants.

Zhai believes that it is part of his responsibilities as a lawyer to contribute to building a just and democratic society founded on the rule of law and to help ordinary citizens better understand the law. He has served on both the Provincial People's Congress and the National People's Congress (NPC) where his expertise has been invaluable in drafting new laws. Over the past decade he has done much to inform the general public about the laws and regulations that affect their lives. He has written books on legal issues, given lectures, and offered a free legal consultation service.

Since 2002, he has used every possible approach to urge the local government in Hunan to provide a better environment for the practice of law in the province. Substantial improvements have already taken place.

In order to fully protect human rights and the practice of the law during criminal procedures, Zhai used his influence to lobby for amendments to the Criminal Law. In 2004, the Standing Committee of the Hunan People's Congress supported this and submitted a draft proposal to the National People's Congress (NPC).

(China.org.cn, 17thcongress.org.cn by Pang Li, October 12, 2007)