Guangdong’s public legal service system delivers over 3 million services by May

The public legal service system of South China's Guangdong province, which is comprised of voice, website and physical service platforms, served the public about 3.05 million times between January and May this year, and saw its public approval rate exceed 98 percent.

Always available

Chen, who is now living in the United States with his wife, had to postpone the notarization of his property in Guangzhou, capital city of Guangdong, multiple times because the notary institutions in the place where he lives were shut down for more than a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

To his delight, Chen learned that Guangzhou’s notarial service has launched a remote service platform on WeChat, and immediately used it to make an application. It took him only 10 minutes or so to have his property notarized. "You've addressed my most urgent need," he gratefully said to the notary.

Chen's story epitomizes the great efforts of Guangdong’s public legal service network to address people's concerns. Currently, its services cover 15 areas including minors, marriages and labor issues, providing the public with solutions to 1,142 common legal issues, 1,102 lawyers' suggestions and 51 service items.

The network's telephone service platform and website are now operating 24/7, with the telephone service platform also connected to hotlines for police services and juvenile support.

More convenient

Guangdong's "bricks-and-mortar" public legal service offices have also strived to bring people more convenience. The public notary office of Zhongshan city, for instance, voluntarily offer applicants certifications they need to relieve their burden of proof.

So far, the 26,447 physical platforms across the province have provided services 592,000 times.

Cities have also stepped up efforts to improve their legal aid services. Using an electronic legal aid archive system, Guangzhou has shortened the time required to handle legal aid applications to just one day. 

In Zhanjiang, 36 towns and 232 villages and communities have established demonstration public legal service stations which provide one-stop and comprehensive services. By the end of May, the city's legal aid institutions had held 11 special activities and advised the public more than 2,000 times.

The city of Yunfu launched a week-long legal service campaign to meet the special needs of poor families and migrant workers.