More trials broadcast online

In an effort to promote transparency of the judiciary, the Guangdong High People's Court in South China's Guangdong Province has ordered every collegiate tribunal to broadcast live on Weibo some cases that have relatively important social influence, reported the Nanfang Daily Thursday.

The high court made its first move in online judicial transparency by opening its official Tencent Weibo under the name of Fayaolingnan in December last year.

It is now doing more than publishing postings relating to trials.

The first case to be broadcast live on Weibo was the iPad trademark dispute between Apple and the Shenzhen-based Proview Technology in February, which gathered a lot of public attention.

Six other live broadcasts included trails involving trademark forgery, murder and financial fraud.

"Cases that are closely connected to daily life and those with great social influence are chosen to be broadcast through Weibo," Yun Lizhen, director of the publicity department at the Guangdong court, told the Global Times.

"For a government body that has been labeled mysterious, the openness of Weibo provides a good platform to communicate with the public," Zheng E, head of the court, told the Nanfang Daily.

"The webcast will become regular in the future as a way of promoting judicial transparency," said Yun, adding that the new move can help the public better understand the trial process and eliminate doubts about justice that is handed out by a judge.

"Some judges resisted the live broadcasts fearing this would stress them out," Yun said, but many judges have realized that transparency is the best way to avoid negative assumptions.

Putting the trial live on Weibo reflects a report made during the 11th Guangdong Provincial Congress of the CPC this May, which stated that government will increase the public's participation in government affairs through the Internet.

"The live broadcasts are a good way to fortify communications between officials and the public," Xu Xianglin, vice dean with the School of Government at Peking University, told the Global Times.

"Through the broadcasts the public can get information that concerns them, while the government also has a chance to debunk rumors," Xu added.

"However, officials who excel in related fields should be fully prepared during online interactions with the public, so they can better explain to the people that don't have professional knowledge and answer their questions accurately," Xu said.