Lawyers give guidance on rules during outbreak

As medics treated novel coronavirus pneumonia patients and entrepreneurs sent donations to regions hit hard by the disease, Li Zongsheng, a lawyer from Liaoning province, was interpreting laws and explaining epidemic control policies to the public.

"I might not be the one braving the outbreak, but I could be the interpreter to help people understand epidemic-related laws, helping to alleviate their anxiety when facing legal problems during this special period of time," said Li, vice-president of the Liaoning Lawyers Association.

"Legal terms are too hard for most people to understand, so my job was to translate them into simple words so the public could understand more easily. Better understanding of laws and policies can contribute a lot to their enforcement."

He explained laws with the help of case studies in articles written on Fazhi Yidu, an online platform developed by Liaoning's Department of Justice and the association.

"In mid-March, for example, I found many netizens were concerned about quarantine and control at Chinese ports when the disease became rampant overseas, and some even left a question about whether our country had made rules on this issue or punishments for those who covered up their travels or infection," he said.

In response to the questions, Li and a few other lawyers quickly interpreted a legal guideline on tightening quarantine at Chinese customs via an article on the platform, explaining the criminal charges people would face if they did not truthfully report their diseases when returning the country.

The article has been read more than 160,000 times since it was published on March 17, Li said, adding there were fewer questions about the issue after the explanation was published.

From Feb 10 to March 31, articles interpreting epidemic-control laws on the platform and written by Li's team received more than 6 million views.

"Although I could not rush to the front line to treat patients like medical workers, I could use my law knowledge to serve the public, eliminate their confusion about epidemic prevention measures and help the country keep control work in order," he said.

"Working from my strength or profession is also what I should do as a deputy to the country's top legislature, the National People's Congress."

Similar free legal advice has also been provided by lawyers in Jiangxi province.

With many enterprises asking questions about salary payment and contract implementation during the outbreak, Feng Fan, vice-president of the Jiangxi Lawyers Association and also an NPC deputy, drafted a guideline that combined provincial employment rules with cases.

To make the guideline more practical, she visited some enterprises and collected questions to better understand the real difficulties caused by the epidemic.

"As a lawyer and an NPC deputy, my job is to help residents alleviate disputes and solve legal problems in a timely manner, especially during such a critical time as the outbreak, to avoid the conflicts being exaggerated," Feng said.

While the two deputies used their knowledge to provide legal aid, some national legislators have contributed to fighting the outbreak by donating supplies to areas hit hard by the disease or submitting suggestions on drafting or revising laws related to the epidemic to the NPC Standing Committee.

Wang Xuebin, an NPC deputy from Shandong province, called for the top legislature to make a law banning the consumption of terrestrial wildlife as quickly as possible. The outbreak is widely believed to have originated in wild animals.

He suggested the legislature list terrestrial wildlife and make it clear that eating, hunting, breeding, processing and purchasing such animals is illegal and must be punished.

The NPC Standing Committee said it had received 175 such suggestions on lawmaking and amendments from NPC deputies by March 26.