China now has a total 102,000 certified lawyers for its population of 1.3 billion, implying that for every 12,745 Chinese people there is one lawyer.

China needs more good lawyers, said Zhang Fusen, minister of Justice Tuesday.

The number of lawyers does not meet the growing demand for legal service in China, especially in the less-developed west China, he added.

So far there are still 206 counties without lawyers in China and 363 law firms have less than three lawyers each.

"We are also short of lawyers skilled and experienced in international businesses," Zhang said.

The legal service on the Chinese mainland has been opening wider after the country entered the World Trade Organization (WTO) in late 2001 and the central government signed the Close Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) with Hong Kong and Macao in 2003.

The government has showed growing interest in developing legal service by issuing a series of regulations on lawyers and law firms.

The ministry issued in mid-March a regulation on lawyers' meeting with their clients in prison after the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) introduced one on lawyers' meeting with clients in custody on Feb. 19.

The Ministry of Public Security is also drafting a similar regulation on lawyers' meeting with clients in custody while the case is under investigation by the police.

Meanwhile, China is striving to improve the environment for lawyers to do their business, Zhang said.

The Supreme People's Court (SPC), the SPP and the Ministry of Justice are jointly working on a guideline on how prosecuting attorneys share evidence with lawyers of the accused.

As a major step of China's judicial reform, lawyers will play amore crucial role in the court if the guideline is issued, said Zhao Dacheng, director of the Lawyer, Notary Steering Department under the ministry.

The administration will tighten supervision on lawyers while working to create a better environment for them, Zhang said.

The regulation on the penalty of lawyers and law firms who violate laws, scheduled to take effect on May 1, lists 21 items on illegal activities.

Another regulation on the procedure for law firms to charge retaining fees will also take effect on May 1.

The malpractice of some lawyers is a problem though most lawyers do play a positive role in China's legal drive, Zhang noted.

A few lawyers have bribed judges or cheated their clients, not only undermining the image of all lawyers but also impairing the justice of the law, he added.

The ministry plans to set up an office on supervision and punishment of lawyers and announce to the public the punishment record of lawyers and law firms.

Lawyer associations should work more on self-discipline of lawyers, Zhang said, adding the administration is to join hands with them in probing illegal operations of lawyers.

"Actually it is a good thing for law-abiding lawyers to have a government watch on the business," said Gao Zongze, president of the All China Lawyers Association (ACLA), "Good lawyers will win more room in the market if bad ones are ruled out."

The ACLA has just announced a behavior guideline for lawyers this month.

(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2004)