BEIJING, June 15 -- China has stepped up efforts to increase the people's access to legal services, as 549,000 physical platforms for providing public legal services had been established in villages and 38,000 service stations in towns by the end of 2022.

More than 600,000 villages and communities across the country had legal counselors, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Justice on Thursday.

Legal aid institutions have improved their services to ensure that residents can obtain assistance on their doorsteps.

In 2022, legal aid institutions nationwide handled more than 830,000 legal aid cases, benefiting roughly 960,000 rural residents, the ministry said.