Prisoners in Shanghai will have their rights and interests as consumers forcefully safeguarded with the opening of consumer advice bureaus in Shanghai municipality's 11 jails on Thursday.

The bureaus, a first for Chinese prisons, will help prisoners with complaints about unfair trading and cooperate with consumers associations to publicize China's laws and regulations to prisoners, prison guards and traders, said Qiao Yesheng, director of the Shanghai bureau of prisons.

"Our aim is to make sure that prisoners' rights and interests as consumers get equal protection with ordinary consumers," said Qiao.

(Xinhua News Agency December 26, 2003)