China establishes 570,000 physical public legal service platforms

China has established 570,000 physical public legal service platforms at provincial, prefectural, county, township and village levels, according to the Ministry of Justice. 

The platforms provide various legal services, including counseling and legal aid, more than 18 million times every year. 

Since its launch in 2018, 12348.gov.cn, China's official public legal service portal, has been visited 1.4 billion times, offering legal advice to over 39 million people and handling over 7.9 million matters.

Nowadays, people can access free legal services online or through the hotline at any time, says the ministry. 

At present, China has more than 540,000 lawyers who handle over 11 million legal affairs every year. With over 640,000 villages and communities around the country having had their own legal counsels, China has by and large achieved its goal of equipping every village or community with a legal counsel. 

In addition, the country now has over 70,000 legal aid stations which are playing an important role in addressing such prominent public concerns as wage payments to migrant workers and the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of women and children. 

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, legal aid agencies have helped over 13.76 million people, handling over 12.89 million cases and advising the public 65.4 million times.