Lawyers get an advocate(2)

Zhou Qiang, president of the Supreme People's Court, has also made repeated calls about upholding the rule of law and has held meetings to solicit opinion on how to build the judiciary's credibility among law professors and lawyers.

Many have expected the 53-year-old judge to improve the judicial system since he became president of the top court in March.

Zhou, who has extensive experience in the judicial system, has taken a series of measures.

The top court for the first time broadcast live online its news conference on Friday.

In his public comments since becoming top judge, Zhou has spoken repeatedly about justice and transparency.

During a trip to Shaanxi province in early April, Zhou said judicial justice is the "lifeline" of courts, and judges should be subject to the supervision of the public and the media.

He Bing, a law professor at China University of Political Science and Law, said Zhou's remarks have given him an impression that the top court is going in the right direction.

But Hou Xinyi from Nankai University said, "I expect some concrete steps to be taken."

GLANCE

Recent court reversals

On March 26, the Zhejiang Provincial High People's Court reversed a 2004 ruling, after new DNA evidence linked another man, now dead, to the rape and murder of a woman. Zhang Gaoping, 47, who received a 15-year prison term, and his nephew Zhang Hui, 38, who received a death sentence with a two-year reprieve, were acquitted after 10 years in prison. The police may have used illegal methods to obtain a confession, the court said when it reversed its 2004 ruling.

Zhao Yanjin, who was convicted of murdering a 6-year-old boy in 2001, was released from prison in February, 20 months after the conviction was overturned for lack of evidence. Zhao, who has been sentenced to life imprisonment twice and acquitted twice in the past 12 years, spent more than 3,300 days in prison.

A court in Pingdingshan, Henan province, on April 25 overturned the wrongful conviction of Li Huailiang, who had been imprisoned for 12 years. Li was convicted of murdering a 13-year-old girl in 2001. Li was acquitted because the evidence was not enough to support the conviction.