Beijing authorities warn city's lawyers off direct elections

Beijing judicial authorities have warned the city's legal fraternity not to support a campaign to introduce direct elections for the leadership of the Beijing Lawyers Association, with one law firm claiming it has been threatened with temporary closure because of its support for the change.

Liu Xiaoyuan, 44, from Beijing Yitong Law Firm, said yesterday that the judicial bureau of Haidian district had sent him a notice on Monday warning that it was illegal to hire staff not licensed to practice law and that his firm might be shut down for six months.

Mr Liu said the warning was groundless because every law firm had the right to hire 'administration staff' who were not licensed lawyers.

'[The issue of illegally hiring staff] was just an excuse. Judicial authorities just want to warn us and all other Beijing lawyers and law firms not to push for the direct BLA elections,' he said.

Mr Liu said that in the second half of last year, three of his firm's lawyers had posted an open letter on the internet calling for the association's first direct election.

The petition attracted at least 70 lawyers' signatures and received wide support in the legal community, but Beijing judicial authorities severely criticised it, saying its purpose was to 'completely negate the mainland's management system for lawyers, the judicial system and even the political system'.

Mr Liu said both the state-backed BLA and Beijing judicial authorities regarded Yitong as the source of the direct election concept and had put pressure on the firm, forcing the three lawyers who launched the campaign to resign.