Justice department of Sichuan takes innovative approach to COVID-19 fight

"For enterprises implementing the regulation on postponing work resumption, the wages for the extended non-work period should be paid according to the wage rules for rest days,"explained a lawyer during a live radio program held by the traffic radio station in the city of Yibin, Southwest China's Sichuan province.

Believing that disseminating legal knowledge during the epidemic will help people stay calm, the Department of Justice of Sichuan has set up a team of a dozen or so elite lawyers who use radio to elaborate on legal provisions and typical cases for the public on a regular basis.

The radio program offers a glimpse of how judicial administrative authorities across the province are exploring innovative ways to provide legal support for the fight against COVID-19.

Drones and online platforms

Interestingly, the judicial authority in Xingwen, a county under Yibin, drew on drones to publicize legal knowledge, programming the flying gadgets to broadcast legal and epidemic prevention information while hovering over people's heads.

Besides drones, the authority also divided the local law popularization force into two parts. One was tasked with exploring various physical means including LED screens, the light on taxi roofs, loudspeakers and dedicated vehicles while the other was responsible for popularizing laws on such online platforms as radio programs, Weibo, WeChat and Douyin.

Cities like Chongzhou are also drawing on various online platforms including a local hotline, an official website and a mobile app to offer legal aid as more and more enterprises start to resume operation.

Case-study column

In a bid to enhance people's legal awareness, the province's law popularization agency has launched a case-study column that introduces epidemic-related cases to the public.

One of the cases being analyzed involves a man who refused to allow his temperature to be taken by slapping away the thermometer held by a community worker. He was later subject to an administrative penalty.

The case drew over 100,000 views after it was publicized online. So far, the column has attracted over seven million views on online social platforms including QQ, WeChat and Douyin.

Prevention in workplaces

With a growing number of enterprises resuming operation, the province's judicial authorities are also attaching more attention to epidemic prevention in the workplace.

In a county under the city of Neijiang, an enterprise asked the local judicial bureau for help after one of its employees refused to put on a mask no matter what.

After arriving at the enterprise, Yuan Tao, an officer of the bureau, began to patiently explain relevant legal provisions to the employee, telling him that his refusal to wear the mask had violated the law and might incur criminal punishments if his behavior poses a threat to others' health. Finally, the man agreed to put on the mask.

Apart from epidemic prevention, labor disputes are also a major issue facing a lot of enterprises. To address this issue, authorities in multiple cities have organized local lawyers to help enterprises manage their labor relations.