Top prosecutor promises transparency

China's top prosecutor Cao Jianming on Thursday promised greater transparency in law enforcement and case handling, especially "important cases".

Prosecuting authorities will speed up the recruitment of spokespersons who will hold briefings and publicize the handling of major cases in a more timely manner, Cao said.

He was speaking at a press conference on judicial issues of public concern, including judicial fairness and criminalizing environmental damage.

Judicial fairness should be accessible to all ordinary people, said Cao.

Moves have been made to improve judicial transparency in the past year. An example was the prosecution and trial of the high-ranking official Bo Xilai, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

Media were present in court and the trial was broadcast live via transcripts, pictures and video through its microblog account.

About 45,000 trial proceedings were published through the media during the past year, according to the Supreme People's Court.

The top prosecutor said that procuratorates at all levels will reinforce a clamping down on violence against medical staff and better settlements for doctor-patient disputes.

Cao also revealed a further crackdown on bribery.

Procuratorates will strengthen international cooperation in the fight against corruption and boost efforts to seize suspects who have fled overseas.

They will make full use of the law to confiscate what the suspects have gained illegally.

He also promised to step up the fight against crimes that endanger the environment and food and drug safety.

Prosecutors must be extremely careful in case handling and listen more to defendants and their lawyers, he said, and the occurrence of wrong judgements should never be allowed.

Cao also warned prosecutors at all levels not to abuse their power and that corruption in the prosecuting system will be seriously investigated.