Following are some quotes from Yu Ning, a political advisor and president of All China Lawyers Association, at the annual session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee on Sunday:
-- Participating rate of lawyers in criminal cases is low in China, with no more than 30 percent of such cases being defended by lawyers.
-- China now has over 220,000 registered lawyers, but each lawyer on average handled less than three criminal cases in 2010, which is not in line with China's construction of a society ruled by laws.
-- The absence of lawyers in trials impairs the justice.
-- The Communist Party of China committees and governments of all levels should create a favorable environment for lawyers' practice.
-- China needs to further optimize its legal assistance system, and enlist criminal cases in which a defendant might be sentenced to 10 years or more in prison as ones that must be defended by lawyers.