On the outskirts of Fengtai District in Beijing, an abandoned medical facility houses the main offices of Zhicheng Public Interest Lawyers Group. Zhicheng is a Chinese non profit organization, working entirely on a pro bono basis, aiding migrant workers, and protecting children’s rights. Although it is an established NGO, which has effectively operated for more than fifteen years, it is hardly known outside the Chinese legal community.
Rule of law, human and social rights, and NGOs have all been considered untouchable in China-foreign discourse, yet play a particularly important role in China-U.S. relations.[i] U.S. officials, such as the U.S. Congressional Executive Commission on China, focus on concerns over continuing violations of human rights and arrests of human rights activists. However, in my own experience based on my encounters with Zhicheng Public Interest Lawyers Group, this may be an oversimplification of Chinese efforts in promoting improvements to its legal environment.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officially adopted rule-of-law as a guiding principle on October 2014 Recently, rule of law has also been written as an integral part of China’s 13th Five Year Plan (FYP). This specifically includes promoting the legal aid system and improving the justice system.
Having seen the on-the-ground efficacy of China’s growing legal-aid systems, I would like to focus this article on some significant takeaways at the Zhicheng Public Interest Lawyers Group. The advanced management methods and the code of conduct implemented Zhicheng Public Interest Law are positive lessons that deserve the attention of rights or legal aid organization worldwide.
The Zhicheng Public Interest Lawyers Group Experience
Zhicheng is a registered non-profit organization with its main offices in Beijing. Yet, it works in cooperation with affiliates in other provinces in China. The choice of location for its main offices is not accidental, as it reflects one of the organization’s core strategies. With an emphasis on the grassroots approach, the offices are easily accessible by its key potential clients and beneficiaries. Moreover, the NGO stretches its long arms to remote localities, providing legal support and guidance in dedicated workshops and allowing the company to work in cooperation with grassroots affiliates in other provinces. Zhicheng also supports ambitious underprivileged youth, offering guidance and assistance as part of a training program, supporting their efforts in obtaining higher education, and building the next generation of the organization’s workforce.
The heart of Zhicheng’s work is in providing pro bono legal aid, i.e. legal representation free of any charge. In the “8 Commandments” clearly and noticeably posted on the walls of the reception hall, everyone who seeks the assistance of Zhicheng’s lawyers is advised that lawyers are not allowed to collect any fee, reimbursement, or compensation for their work, or to solicit any clients. This high standard code of conduct also forbids entertainment in private social gatherings. This policy stands in contrast to other pro bono models that may require the beneficiaries to pay for third party expenses, or allow the lawyers to enjoy some remuneration as a success fee. The only appreciation allowed in Zhicheng is in the form of a banner (see above photo).
The lawyers are employed by the NGO on a full time basis, enhancing their professionalism and competence and specializing in their practice areas. In one of my visits, I was fortunate to be able to attend a professional workshop held every three months. In the workshop, the participants formed a community of learners sharing their experiences across various disciplines. Each lawyer presented a case he or she had recently handled, which involved a complicated legal question and required significant legal expertise and effort. They were allotted exactly five minutes to present the case, and then had to answer the questions from a panel composed of non-NGO professionals for another two minutes. At the end of the workshop, both colleagues and outside experts rated the case and its handling; they then voted using a special platform that was opened for this purpose on the popular mobile app WeChat. The discussion in the workshop seemed frank and open. Although the lawyers were, to some extent, competing with one another, they chose to share not only their success stories but also the cases in which they had failed.
The cases presented at the workshop mostly focused on employment related matters. The lawyers were struggling to prove before local courts employer-employee relationship and to get compensation for damages suffered by the workers, or unpaid salaries, or employee benefits. In some cases the lawyers were very successful and were able to obtain full compensation for these migrant workers.
One common problem shared by the various lawyers in the workshop was the difficulty in collecting the evidence required for the legal proceedings. In some cases involving migrant workers, the employers disappeared, leaving only faint evidence for their mere existence, not to mention the employment relationship. These are practical problems that any litigation lawyer often faces. Notably, Zhicheng’s lawyers accepted cases even when the chances to win them were slim due to a lack of evidence. This certainly enhances the trust Zhicheng receives from the general public and from the potential clients and beneficiaries it serves. With knowledge accumulated in practice and legal research for more than fifteen years, Zhicheng’s lawyers also actively advise the government in promoting new policies and regulations. Last year, for example, experts from the NGO consulted and advised various government committees on initiatives for helping ‘left behind’ children, by working on eliminating of corporal punishment in schools.
During the past few years, Chinese government has put emphasize on the development of non-profit social organizations. This is not only a top-down development, but rather a development stemming from within Chinese society, and should be seen as a part of a larger social and economic transformation Chinese society is undergoing. Along with the development of Chinese society, citizens are more active, and are ready to act to advance and protect their interests. More and more interest groups within Chinese society are trying to solve social problems by helping people in need. Zhicheng Public Interest Law represent a good example of such a trend. The choice of the outside experts who participated in the workshop discussed above was carefully made to encompass a variety of complementary professions representing the academia (law professors), media (a journalist) and practicing commercial (i.e. for profit) lawyers. This is part of the NGO’s core strategy in building a network that can effectively mobilize relevant social actors. Ultimately, non-profit organizations requires the general public and financial support to sustain it. Hence, reaching out to a variety of stakeholders is vital.
Zhicheng is constantly looking for new ways to increase its international capacity, and to gain more knowledge about the practices and managerial problems of similar NPOs in other countries, with the understanding that knowledge acquired elsewhere can prove useful if properly integrated. For such purpose, Zhicheng sends its most outstanding lawyers to learn lessons and cultivate experience abroad. In addition, it hosts interns from other countries. During my visits over the past year, I met interns from both developed and developing countries. The emphasis of the NGO’s internationalization efforts seem to focus primarily on learning in order to enhance its capacity within the Chinese domestic sphere.
These policies are also promoted by the Chinese government as the FYP however may even further support the internationalization of Chinese NPOs. Chapter 51 of the FYP outlines the goals of strengthening the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, not only for the expansion of economic cooperation, but also for the expansion of cultural and educational exchange. It is therefore yet to be seen how Chinese NPOs will interpret this positive encouragement to play a bigger role on the international sphere, and whether in 2020 we can expect to see Chinese based NPOs playing more significant roles. This may also serve in the long run to abate tensions and misunderstandings in the relationship between China and the US. Learning from the experience of Zhicheng or such other experiences social organizations is worthwhile, and can be the first step.
[i] US Congressional Commission on China http://www.cecc.gov
[ii]Zhonggong Zhongyang Guanyu Quanmian Tuijin Yifazhiguo Ruogan Zhongda Wenti de Jueding (中共中央关于全面推进依法治国若干重大问题的决定) [Decision of the CCP Central Committee on Major Issues Pertaining to Comprehensively Promoting the Rule of Law] (promulgated by CCP Cent. Committee, Oct. 23, 2014) art. 4(2) (Chinalawinfo).
[iii] China parliament approves five-year plan, charity law, Channel NewsAsia (2016), [iv] Charity Law of the People’s Republic of China (passed on March 16, 2016 by the 4th meeting of the Twelfth National People’s Congress), Unofficial translation available at: http://chinalawtranslate.com/2016charitylaw/?lang=en
[v] Charity Law to come into force on September 1st, China Development Brief (2016), http://chinadevelopmentbrief.cn/news/charity-law-to-come-into-force-on-september-1st/