Deputies urge higher legal aid salaries

Legislators have urged authorities to increase the salaries of legal aid lawyers to ensure that all criminal suspects can get access to a defense attorney.

The demand for legal services is steadily increasing in China, but not everyone has the resources to pay, according to Han Deyun, a Chongqing lawyer and deputy to the National People's Congress.

The country has more than 300,000 lawyers, but he estimates about 75 percent are based in developed cities in eastern regions.