Tong Lihua: Ten years of a leader in public welfare legal services
□ Bai Chuxuan, a trainee reporter of this newspaper
□ Our reporter Huang Jie
People who walk into Beijing Zhicheng Law Firm for the first time will be amazed by the more than 600 pennants hanging all over the wall. Each pennant records a period between Tong Lihua and her team and minors, migrant workers and other groups s story.
Tong Lihua, Director of Beijing Zhicheng Law Firm, has been in the front line of public welfare legal services for more than 20 years, and founded the largest public welfare legal service organization in China - Zhicheng Public Welfare Team.
Today, more than 700,000 minors, migrant workers and other groups across the country have directly benefited from the free legal services promoted by Tong Lihua.
Tong Lihua is well-deserved for the title of "Leader of China's Public Interest Lawyers".
For more than 20 years, he has not only used his professional ability to handle various typical cases, but also devoted himself to thinking and research in various fields such as the protection of minors and migrant workers, labor dispute resolution, the construction of the rule of law, and the development of social organizations, and actively devotes himself to the law. The drafting, demonstration and other work of laws and regulations, and strive to promote the continuous progress of national legislation in related fields.
In 2012, 41-year-old Tong Lihua was elected as a representative of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China as a public interest lawyer, becoming one of the three representatives of the legal profession.
In the blink of an eye, 10 years have passed, and Tong Lihua's public welfare steps have become more powerful. He not only promoted the professional, professional and social public welfare legal service model throughout the country, but also made the voice of Chinese public welfare organizations heard all over the world.
Tong Lihua said: "I am the son of a peasant. I have always been able to see the fate of ordinary people and the hardships of difficult groups. These have become the driving force for me to work hard and promote reforms."
Promote the improvement of relevant laws
Protect the rights of minors
On June 1, 2021, the newly revised Minor Protection Law came into effect.
The "ten highlights" of this new law let the whole society see the remarkable progress made by the rule of law in promoting the protection of the rights and interests of minors, and the summary of the "ten highlights" is to participate in the revision of the law on the protection of minors throughout the whole process. Tong Lihua.
Tong Lihua is very pleased to see that the content that she has paid attention to and promoted personally for more than ten years has been absorbed into the new law.
Tong Lihua became attached to the protection of minors for a long time. He had a profound experience in the process of handling the case: "I will never forget the helpless and confused eyes of that little girl when she couldn't find her family." Tong Lihua is still deeply impressed by an abandoned child case.
In April 1999, Tong Lihua, in the name of Beijing Zhicheng Law Firm, and China Juvenile Delinquency Research Association jointly established Juvenile Legal Aid and Research Center (later renamed Beijing Juvenile Legal Aid and Research Center, hereinafter referred to as Beijing Juvenile Center). ), which is the first national public welfare legal service organization for minors in China.
In May 2000, under his full advocacy and promotion, the China Youth Legal Aid Lawyers Network was born.
Since then, Tong Lihua has been running around on the front line of the protection of minors.
Helping the abused boy and successfully changing the guardian; defending the boy who went astray on impulse, and obtaining the opportunity to continue his studies after his probation... In encounters with minors who need help time and time again, Tong Lihua It is increasingly clear that "only by letting the law really play a role can we fundamentally reduce cases of harm to minors".
In July 2011, a 9-year-old girl in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province was repeatedly abused by her father and stepmother. After each time she was dealt with by the relevant departments, the child had to go home and continue to suffer violent injuries. The stepmother even said to the child, "Look how I tortured slowly. kill you".
This case shocked and angered him. While helping girls defend their rights in accordance with the law, he also worked harder to promote reforms so that the system of revoking guardianship qualifications could truly be implemented.
The Beijing Youth Center immediately conducted a survey on cases of domestic violence against minors, and found that some cases directly resulted in the death of minors.
With his persistent appeal for more than ten years, the issue of guardians' violation of the rights and interests of minors has attracted the attention of the civil affairs department.
The Ministry of Civil Affairs began to lead the drafting of relevant policies, and he participated in the demonstration of the initial policy framework.
At the end of 2014, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the "Opinions on Several Issues Concerning Legally Handling Guardians' Acts of Infringing upon the Rights and Interests of Minors".
Tong Lihua commented: "This policy is of historic significance and will open a new starting point for the protection of minors in our country. It marks that the legal provisions that have been dormant for nearly 30 years will finally be activated. The horribly hurt and helpless situation will come to an end."
In March 2018, Tong Lihua was entrusted by the Social Construction Committee of the National People's Congress to draft an expert proposal for the revision of the Minor Protection Law.
After careful consideration, Tong Lihua wrote "strengthening government responsibility and establishing a feasible coordination agency for the protection of minors" into the draft proposal.
Ultimately, the proposal was incorporated into legislation and became one of the "ten bright spots" of the new law.
In May of this year, the Supreme People's Procuratorate released data: In 2021, 464 cases of support for guardian violations and proposed revocation of guardian qualifications were made, an increase of 49.2% year-on-year; 388 cases of guardian qualifications were revoked, a year-on-year increase of 48.7%.
Tong Lihua said: "The process of promoting the rule of law is very long, and sometimes I feel frustrated, but the final result shows that every bit of effort will not be in vain, all we need is a little more patience and persistence."
In 2015, Amendment (IX) of the Criminal Law focused on the abolition of the crime of child abuse, molesting boys, buying abducted and selling children, and prostituting young girls, which have long been concerned by the society. Tong Lihua is also a participant and promoter.
Tong Lihua said emotionally: "The protection of minors is related to the well-being of each of our families, and to the future development of the country and human society. Witnessing and participating in the process of the reform of the national legislation and policy on the protection of minors is also a major part of life. Good luck."
Actively provide legal aid
Help migrant workers defend their rights in accordance with the law
Tong Lihua also has an indissoluble bond with the protection of the rights and interests of migrant workers.
In 2005, he presided over the establishment of the Beijing Migrant Workers Legal Aid Workstation, and in 2009 it was registered as the Beijing Zhicheng Migrant Worker Legal Aid and Research Center (hereinafter referred to as the Zhicheng Migrant Worker Center), which is the first company in China to provide legal assistance to migrant workers. aid agency.
A friend once persuaded him to carefully intervene in the field of migrant workers' rights protection.
But Tong Lihua said, "I'm the son of a farmer. My father was a migrant worker and also suffered arrears of wages. I can best understand their helplessness."
With a strong sense of social responsibility, he has rooted legal beliefs for migrant workers, and because of this, his "clients" are increasing.
As of the end of 2021, Zhicheng Migrant Worker Center has received more than 110,000 legal consultations in Beijing, involving more than 300,000 migrant workers; more than 14,000 cases have been completed, with more than 18,000 direct beneficiaries. Recover more than 300 million yuan in compensation.
In the persistent legal aid for migrant workers, Tong Lihua gradually realized that the key reason for the evolution and escalation of many simple conflicts and disputes is that the legitimate interests of the people were initially ignored.
The earlier such cases are dealt with, the simpler and lower the cost. Guiding and helping ordinary people to safeguard their rights in accordance with the law is the most effective way to avoid the intensification of conflicts.
Over the years, none of the legal aid cases for migrant workers handled by the lawyers of the center have turned into vicious incidents, and sharp and difficult social conflicts have been effectively resolved.
However, these are far from enough in Tong Lihua's view.
In recent years, with the development of society and economy, the employment pattern of migrant workers has changed, and many workers have left the construction site and become "takeaway brothers".
On weekdays, they roam the streets and alleys, propping up the market size of the takeaway industry of more than 600 billion yuan, but when an accident happens, the road to safeguarding the rights of the "takeaway brother" is difficult.
"Who am I working for?" In August 2020, takeaway rider Shao Xinyin came to Zhicheng Migrant Worker Center for help with such questions, "I deliver food for a certain platform and work at a takeaway site of Dias Company. , the salary is paid by Taichang Company, and the personal tax is withheld by a construction company in Tianjin and an outsourcing company in Shanghai.”
Shao Xinyin, who thought it was a simple takeaway, didn't realize until he was injured during the delivery and had to defend his rights. He was surprised to find out that he was actually involved with 5 companies, and these 5 companies, without exception, did not admit that he had a relationship with them. He has labor relations, and his rights protection is in trouble.
It is not only Shao Xinyin who is in trouble, but also the Zhicheng Migrant Worker Center.
After the local arbitration in Beijing and the litigation in Chongqing, there is still no answer to who Shao Xinyin's employees are, and all they get is the judgment of losing the second instance.
Attorneys at the center believe that "the case cannot proceed".
Tong Lihua and his team realized that this was not a simple work-related injury claim.
At 9:00 am on June 22, 2021, Tong Lihua convened a team to discuss the case. The first sentence he said was: "I feel hopeless in this case."
Xu Miao, a lawyer who was also on the case handling team, recalled: "When the word 'despair' came out of Director Tong Lihua's mouth, I was very shocked. He has dealt with all kinds of difficult and complicated cases, big and small. But he never said the word 'desperate'."
"Why can't the rider find the employer, and why is there no one to take responsibility after he is injured? The case of Shao Xinyin is by no means a single case, but may involve the protection of the rights and interests of millions of workers." Tong Lihua's " Despair" comes from his finding that such problems are common. "If even our group of experienced migrant workers' lawyers feel hopeless in this case, does that mean that there is actually a deeper problem behind it?"
Subsequently, Tong Lihua made arrangements for Xu Miao to lead a comprehensive study of the legal issues related to the takeaway rider behind the case, and at the same time, continued to help Shao Xinyin in the labor relationship confirmation lawsuit with another company.
From this day on, for Zhicheng Migrant Workers Center, this case is no longer a simple labor dispute case, and their attention has turned to the research on the operation behind the case and the application of laws and many other issues.
On September 17, 2021, Zhicheng Migrant Workers Center publicly released the "Legal Research Report on the Employment Model of Food Delivery Platforms".
The report conducted research and analysis on 1,907 valid legal judgments on labor disputes on food delivery platforms in the past five years, and was evaluated by many experts as "the most in-depth report on the employment issues of food delivery platforms at present".
In December 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission and other departments issued the "Several Opinions on Promoting the Healthy and Sustainable Development of the Platform Economy", in particular, it is proposed to improve the relationship between workers in new forms of employment such as online delivery workers, and platform enterprises and labor cooperative enterprises. Labor Relations Recognition Standards.
At the beginning of 2022, the Supreme People's Procuratorate issued the "Key Points of Public Interest Litigation Prosecution Work in 2022", taking the protection of labor rights and interests in new formats as a new area for active and steady exploration and expansion.
After this survey, Tong Lihua deeply felt that the scope of protection of labor law and labor contract law is still very limited, and migrant workers, domestic workers, takeaway riders and other groups have not been well protected.
As a result, Tong Lihua calmed down again, and after systematically thinking about this issue, combined with years of practical experience, she wrote the article "Establish the "Labor Code" as soon as possible, and establish "hard work to get rich" as the basic national policy.
Tong Lihua said that the sensational incident brought only the resolution of individual cases, not the improvement of the system.
He expects that through the improvement of legislation and systems, the rights protection procedures for migrant workers will be simplified, the cost of rights protection will be lower, the rights protection channels will be smoother, and the results will be fairer.
Leading the team abroad
Introducing China's achievements in the rule of law
In July 2011, the Beijing Youth Center and the Zhicheng Migrant Worker Center were granted special consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in a historic manner, achieving a "zero" breakthrough in obtaining the consultative status of the United Nations for private social organizations in my country.
Since then, Tong Lihua and his team have started their journey abroad.
The experience of participating in the UN Human Rights Council for the first time is still fresh in Tong Lihua's memory.
Compared with the familiarity of foreign social organizations, Tong Lihua feels that everything is so unfamiliar.
During the meeting, he walked to the more than 100 side events of the meeting, but there was no Chinese figure on the podium.
This has planted a seed in Tong Lihua's heart, and we must let the international community hear the voice of Chinese social welfare organizations.
Two years later, in 2017, also at the Palais des Nations at the UN headquarters in Geneva, Tong Lihua spoke at the general debate of the 35th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
He introduced the reform of China's judicial system in concise language, and introduced China's achievements in human rights and the development of the rule of law from the professional and neutral perspective of a social welfare organization.
Also at this year's conference, the Zhicheng delegation led by Tong Lihua held the first side event with the theme of "Building a World Free from Violence". Various violent phenomena faced by human society are analyzed, and 8 specific and practical initiatives are put forward.
Tong Lihua appealed: "As long as human beings have the courage to reflect, as long as human beings have the courage to change themselves, as long as we can all act to prevent and stop violence, then we will surely be able to build a world free from violence. Let us jointly launch a A movement for nonviolent cooperation to build a better world free from violence for ourselves and our children!"
The voice fell, and there was warm applause from the scene.
After the meeting, a person in charge of an international organization said to Lihua Tong: "You are a very brave person. Thank you for your many pragmatic ideas to solve problems."
Tong Lihua gained a lot from the second trip to the UN Human Rights Conference. He not only led the team to hold two side meetings, but also allowed the international community to see the thinking and thinking of Chinese social welfare organizations in promoting solutions to common problems faced by mankind. At the same time, he was also invited to give a special lecture on "China's Current Legal Reform".
The head of an international organization said after the meeting: "Zhicheng was able to organize two consecutive side events at the United Nations, which not only successfully introduced the work of Chinese lawyers and social organizations in China, but also successfully demonstrated their response to violence and child sexual abuse. We hope that Chinese social organizations will participate more in international activities, and we are also willing to have more cooperation with Chinese social organizations.”
Tong Lihua, who went abroad, once again repositioned her mission, "I hope to promote international child protection work through more international exchanges, especially to promote our exploration and experience to more developing countries."
After that, Tong Lihua published the book "Into the United Nations", and the Zhicheng Public Welfare Team also won an international reputation for Chinese lawyers.
In March 2018, Zhicheng organized the "A20 Global Child-friendly Social Leadership Summit" in Beijing, invited the heads of 20 developing countries' child protection social organizations to attend the meeting in China, and issued the "Global Child-friendly Social Consensus". "; in May 2019, Zhicheng invited 18 heads of child protection social organizations from 16 developing countries to Beijing to organize the "Global Child Protection Seminar".
So far, Zhicheng has established working contacts with more than 50 child protection organizations including UNICEF and Save the Children International.
Hope to push more lawyers
Invest in legal aid
At the beginning of 1998, Tong Lihua, who had been working as a lawyer for three and a half years, and some doctors and masters from China University of Political Science and Law, established the "Lawyer Tong Legal Hotline", which is the first nationwide consultation hotline opened by full-time lawyers.
If counting from the establishment of the hotline, Tong Lihua has been on the road of public welfare legal career for 24 years.
This road is not smooth, but the "comrades" he met on the road gave him endless support and encouragement, helping him to persevere.
From 2007 to 2008, a legal aid project for migrant workers promoted by the Zhicheng Migrant Workers Center was promoted across the country, but after only one year of the project, the shortage of funds became a hurdle that could not be overcome.
At the difficult moment when this public welfare project was facing premature death, China Legal Aid Foundation became the implementation unit of the Central Lottery Public Welfare Fund project. Application, including the Zhicheng Migrant Workers Center, a number of non-profit legal service organizations in various provinces and cities across the country are included in the scope of support.
"With the support of the Central Lottery Public Welfare Fund, the legal aid project for migrant workers has not only been widely promoted across the country, but also a group of public welfare legal service organizations dedicated to this field have been trained and trained, and it has also helped those who really need legal help in difficulties. Groups have more opportunities to get help." Tong Lihua said that he and his colleagues can always stick to it, and it is inseparable from the support of special funds like the Central Lottery Public Welfare Fund, so that the professional public welfare legal cause can develop sustainably become possible.
Some people commented: "Tong Lihua has stepped out of the path of public welfare legal services with Chinese characteristics." Because, in addition to handling legal aid cases, Tong Lihua's Zhicheng is also committed to promoting legislative and policy reforms through empirical research based on a large number of cases, participating in And promote the introduction of more perfect laws and systems.
"A case can only help one person, but a law can benefit more people." In the process of handling complex and difficult cases over the years, Tong Lihua pays attention not only to individual cases, but also to similar cases behind him.
As a public interest lawyer, Tong Lihua is well aware that public interest legal services should raise the public's legal awareness and promote the progress of relevant laws and policies through every assistance.
In 2013, he was re-elected as a representative of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress and was elected as a member of the Legal Affairs Committee.
During the five-year period, he participated extensively in the local legislative work in Beijing, which gave him a deeper understanding of legislation.
Tong Lihua has always been very busy, and she is busy with work on almost all holidays.
"Juvenile Law", "Harmonious Society and Public Welfare Law", "Research on Hot Issues of the Rule of Law in China's Rural Areas"... Over the years, he has written and edited more than 70 legal books; Major topics entrusted by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League, Beijing Municipal People's Congress and other units, and entrusted to carry out research on relevant policy reforms; drafting or demonstration of hundreds of laws, regulations and policies, such as the Minor Protection Law, the Labor Dispute Mediation and Arbitration Law, and the Social Insurance Law, etc. He was never absent either.
Regarding public welfare, Tong Lihua often said: "In fact, many people have the seeds of public welfare in their hearts. The question is how to ignite and motivate them. As long as they have contributed to public welfare, they are all people who deserve respect." He is very happy to be that "star" Since 2007, he has been promoting legal aid work across the country, promoting lawyers' in-depth participation in public welfare legal services, and has continuously rooted the concepts of fairness, justice and the rule of law into the hearts of more people.
In the eyes of Wang Hui, a public interest lawyer in Jiangxi Province, Tong Lihua is like a "beacon" that guides public interest lawyers to move forward.
Many years ago, Wang Hui participated in a nationwide public interest lawyer project hosted by Tong Lihua.
"He not only helped us train our skills, but also gave us psychological encouragement and guidance. From the beginning, everyone was reluctant to do this kind of labor dispute case, and finally gradually became a full-time labor law lawyer." Wang Hui said .
With Tong Lihua's inspiration and help, in 2016, Wang Hui founded the first non-profit law firm in Jiangxi, and raised funds to set up a public welfare team to serve migrant workers free of charge; in 2017, Jiangxi Zhicheng was established Legal Aid and Research Center, and served as the "Chief Legal Aid Lawyer" of Jiangxi Province and Nanchang City two-level trade unions.
Since 2016, Wang Hui has led her team to handle 6,092 legal aid cases.
"At the beginning of our launch, we faced difficulties in terms of personnel and funds. As the main person in charge of the public welfare legal service of the All China Lawyers Association at that time, Tong Lihua gave great support to the development of Sichuan's public welfare legal cause in all aspects." Sichuan Weixu Attorney Du Wei, the director of the firm, has the same experience as Wang Hui.
Today, Du Wei has led the law firm to handle more than 9,000 legal aid cases of various types, saving more than 500 million yuan in economic losses for the poor.
Under the influence of Tong Lihua, Yao Weiyao, lawyer of Anhui Huishang Law Firm and deputy director of the Minor Protection Committee of the All-China Lawyers Association, also established Anhui Zhicheng Public Welfare Legal Aid and Research Center in Anhui in 2012, becoming the first in Anhui Province. Non-governmental legal aid public welfare organization.
"Director Tong Lihua is also a teacher and a friend. He constantly inspires and cultivates me on my growth path, and helps me build up the confidence to be an excellent lawyer, especially an excellent public interest legal service lawyer. He is my leader in the public interest legal service career. The guide." Yao Weiyao said that he believed that more lawyers would actively participate in the cause of public welfare legal services and unremittingly contribute to the construction of the rule of law in China.
In 2009, Tong Lihua published a book "For Justice: Ten Years of Sincerity for Public Welfare" when she was engaged in public welfare legal services for 10 years.
Now, another decade has passed.
Looking back on the past 10 years and going back to the road of public welfare legal services a long time ago, many people always ask Tong Lihua a question: why can she persist for so many years?
Tong Lihua's answer has not changed: "Because I have always been able to see the fate of many ordinary people, and I have always been able to see that in the process of social development, groups in need need help." This is his motivation.
"I have been working in public welfare legal services for 24 years. After all, I also have a time to retire. I hope that there will be more people like me, promoting the development of public welfare legal service organizations, and promoting the reform of laws and policies." This is his of hope.
On the wall of the corridor leading to the second floor of Zhicheng Law Firm, there are four big red characters: "For Justice".
These four words interpret Tong Lihua's original intention and feelings.
Today, at the age of fifty, he still follows his own ideas and beliefs about the rule of law, and sticks to the path of public welfare to the end.
Graphics / Takatake