Shanghai institute launches law translation contest

The Shanghai Institute of Administrative Law today launched a contest to translate local government documents into English as it seeks to hire more law translation professionals.

Anybody interested in law translation can participate in the online contest. Participants can get all the details on eastday.com, shanghailaw.gov.cn and the institute's website. The English translation should be submitted to an appointed e-mail address before September 15.

Results will be announced in October. Ten contestants will win awards and have a chance to be hired as translators.

The institute, governed by the Shanghai Legislative Affairs Office, is responsible for translating local laws, regulations and administration documents into English. As of the end of this June, the institute has translated more than 700 government documents with 5.1 million Chinese characters.

The English versions of the documents are available online and are also given to consulates in Shanghai, foreign firms and some foreign institutes.

"Shanghai is becoming more international," said Liu Ping, director of the institute. "We need to make sure our foreign friends understand the local laws. But we also have a shortage of professional law translation talents. We hope to find more professionals through this contest."