Qiansu City Expands Legal Counseling Services for Ethnic Migrants

August 31, 2005

The State Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission (SERAC) in Qiansu city, Jiangsu province, signed cooperative agreements in July with legal aid centers in 36 cities to provide legal counsel to ethnic migrant workers. The number of minority migrant workers living in Qiansu has risen from 9,500 in the 1980s to over 24,000 today, according to an August 2 State Ethnic Affairs Commission report. More than 3,600 of Qiansu's minority citizens are currently employed in temporary jobs outside of the city and will now be able to seek legal counsel at legal aid centers in any of the 36 partner cities.

The State Ethnic and Religious Affairs Commission (SERAC) in Qiansu city, Jiangsu province, signed cooperative agreements in July with legal aid centers in 36 cities to provide legal counsel to ethnic migrant workers. The number of minority migrant workers living in Qiansu has risen from 9,500 in the 1980s to over 24,000 today, according to an August 2 State Ethnic Affairs Commission report. More than 3,600 of Qiansu's minority citizens are currently employed in temporary jobs outside of the city and will now be able to seek legal counsel at legal aid centers in any of the 36 partner cities.

Qiansu city established its first legal aid center for minorities in 2001. The expansion of legal aid counseling announced in July reflects the city's effort to implement new State Council Regulations on the Implementation of the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law promulgated in May. The Regulations require local governments to increase the awareness among minorities of their rights under the Regional Ethnic Autonomy Law and to take "concrete measures" to protect these rights. Article 38 of the Regulation also requires governments in autonomous areas to manage the orderly flow of minority workers into and out of the autonomous areas and ensure that their lawful rights are protected.