FOR the past 23 years, Shanghai lawyer Pei Zhen has been fighting for justice, riding a bicycle to get around and hear grievances and wielding the law as his lance.

Pei, age 60, has become something of a legend since he was elected to the Shanghai People's Congress in 2009. There he is known as an outspoken critic of various municipal problems and departments, which is rare in a Chinese lawmaker.

But the civil servant for the Pudong New Area government legal office is also constructive. Last year, he submitted one-fifth of all proposals received by the Shanghai People's Congress of 800-plus deputies.

In the city legislature, transport safety and efficiency are high on Pei's agenda. Early this year, he proposed the local government draw up emergency plans for high-speed rail, which is developing fast. "I don't want Shanghai to repeat the mistakes of the Metro system," he said.

In 2009, a signal device malfunction on Metro Line 1 sent the wrong speed instructions to a train, which then hit an empty train during morning rush hour. The line was shut for most of the morning and thousands of commuters were stranded.

As a result of his blistering criticisms, Pei has been both praised as a courageous lawmaker and criticized as a publicity-seeker and grandstander who delights in finding flaws in the city.

"I should be responsible to the voters, and I must speak for them," Pei said repeatedly during an interview with Shanghai Daily.

In 2009, Pei had urged the government to fix unsafe turnstile gates in one neighborhood; nothing was done and several months later an old woman was trapped in a gate and died after she was rescued. Pei publicly rebuked the housing bureau, calling the death a preventable tragedy.

"You failed to treat my proposal seriously - how can people trust me?" he asked.

The turnstiles were fixed.

"I'm a person who yells out the truth when I encounter injustice," said Pei, who doesn't pull his punches.

He opened a private law office in late January and his calendar is already booked until November. That's important since he's due to retire from his city job next month. Before opening a physical office, he had for years been helping people from his home, distributing his address and e-mail so everyone could contact him.

In his day job for the city's legal department, he investigates citizen complaints and threatened law suits against various departments. He gets around on his bike for both his government and his private work.

As a pro bono lawyer, meanwhile, he dispenses advice on a variety of issues, such as property, house demolition, inheritance, residence certificates (hukou) and business. He helps people prepare proper grievance petitions for government departments.

Mediation

Several years ago, Pei received a letter at home from 50 migrant workers before Spring Festival, saying their boss had refused to pay their salaries for one year. They hinted at taking violent actions.

He promised to try. After work he rode his old bicycle to the employer's office for negotiations. Finally, Pei and the migrants won - the migrants got paid, Pei got satisfaction.

He also mediates client disputes, advising that mediation is much better than going to court. He is a regular mediator on the popular TV show "Old Uncle" along with famous "Auntie Bai."

With a full-time government job, a law practice, responsibilities as a lawmaker and TV mediator, Pei is a very busy fellow, usually eating mantou (steamed buns) on the run as it only takes him five minutes to gobble a meal. He doesn't get much sleep. And he doesn't walk or amble around, he strides at a fast clip.

"I'm just a happy old rabbit, hopping around," said Pei, who notes that he was born in the Year of the Rabbit and is as energetic as a bunny.

He considers himself a "people's lawyer." Pei got his license to practice law in 1988 when few people entered the legal profession. Instead of taking profitable commercial cases, he became a pioneer in the profession, a government lawyer helping sort out complaints from citizens who threatened to sue.

There's a long tradition of Chinese petitioning higher authorities when they they have been treated unfairly by government departments. Most of them end up with nothing, despite many efforts over a long period of time, often years.

"The system still works, but the problem is that people do not know about their rights," according to Pei who urges his clients to try again and press for written responses from government departments. An official written response is the only valid proof, he said.

"There are a lot of people who need help defending themselves and protecting their rights by using the weapon of the law," said Pei. "They are ignorant of their rights and my job is to teach them how to exercise their rights conferred by law." He always advises clients to strictly abide by the law, and not to take advantage of loopholes in the legal system. He has been known to argue with clients and lose his temper. "I am a person full of emotions. I have the right to get angry at people with unreasonable requests." He quickly rejects people who fraudulently claim emergencies to jump the long reservation list to seek his advice.

Pei has gone through 23 bicycles in around 23 years as he pedals around the city on his government and private, pro bono work.

"I'm just an ordinary man doing ordinary things," he said. "I'm successful because I persist." At age 60, he's a bit thin and undernourished, but he still pedals his battered bike around on weekends and holidays. He has a few minor health problems but says, "I just don't have time to see a doctor."

The Shanghai native studied Chinese literature and English in university, which probably accounts for his vivid rhetoric in the Shanghai People's Congress. His wife, Zhang Yuzhen, complains he never talks when he's at home; he's busy answering letters, e-mails and weibo, China's equivalent of twitter, and developing proposals to improve the city.

Last year, Pei submitted 203 proposals, nearly one-fifth of the proposals received by the Shanghai People's Congress; each was based on thorough investigation and documented by photos; he took 2,800 pictures to make his multiple cases. During the Spring Festival holiday alone, Pei completed 40 proposals.

"I'm live a tiring life," Pei said, "but I have no choice." He clearly has no desire to slow down. His efforts have won many hearts. He once tried in vain to help a woman get a Shanghai hukou (permanent residence permit), which confers considerable benefits. "But she didn't blame me, instead she thanked me for trying so hard," he said, his eyes filling with tears.

Pei has certainly experienced China's ups and downs; as an intellectual he was sent to the countryside during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) and later was a manual laborer, a journalist and a tour guide. He also found time to study law and finally went to work for the city. No matter what he did, he stood out.

"I'm a kind of legend," Pei joked. "But I'm a bad husband," he acknowledged. "I can understand why my wife says she wouldn't marry me if she had another chance."

Several years ago when his wife underwent heart surgery, Pei was at her bedside, but he took his work along and kept writing proposals for civic improvement. Pei is due to retire from his government job in April, but he has two more years left as a lawmaker and people are lining up for a good lawyer.

One of his few non-work pleasures is choral singing and he has toured overseas with a national chorus of civil servants. But the law is clearly his life.

"There is no end," said the happy old rabbit. "I will carry on."