The new regulation will, for the first time, develop the legal aid from benevolent practices of individual lawyers or social organizations into a duty of governments, said Minister of Justice Zhang Fusen on Thursday.

The Chinese government will not only strive to create better policies and social environment for legal assistance development, but also guarantee the funds needed for daily operation of legal aid organizations, which are banned from seeking profits, Zhang said.

Meanwhile, judicial authorities at various levels are also impelled to strengthen supervision and management over the operation of legal assistance organizations, Zhang said.

The new regulation, a milestone for the increasingly mature democratic legal system in China, is believed to be helpful in standardizing and developing the country's legal aid mechanism.

The Chinese government invested 78.04 million yuan (US$9.44 million) in legal assistance to needy citizens last year. Currently, China has 2,642 legal aid organizations with 8,899 full-time practitioners.

(Xinhua News Agency August 29, 2003)