Reforms spark legal brain drain

Judges and officials are stepping down as changes designed to streamline China's judicial system prompt concerns about long hours, low pay and the pressure of work. Cao Yin reports.

Jiang Yangbing was a judge at an intermediate people's court in Zhanjiang city, Guangdong province, until June last year, when he quit his post because of stressful working conditions and concerns about new guidelines related to independent verdicts.

The 33-year-old lawyer said a number of cases related to administrative procedures or property disputes had left him with the double challenge of trying to quell dissent that could have sparked a mass incident, such as public protests, while also combating interference from the government departments involved.