Combating corruption with legal mind

The trial for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power involving Bo Xilai was open, transparent and legal, with the proceedings focused on facts, evidence and the law.

The Aug. 22-26 trial at Jinan Intermediate People's Court in east China's Shandong Province, once again, showed China's clear stance and resolution to fight corruption with the rule of law, according to a commentary to be carried Tuesday by People's Daily, the flagship newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee.

The commentary said that the handling of the case, from expelling Bo from the CPC and public office, transferring him to judicial organs, to hearing the case in an open and transparent manner, has been advanced along the track of the rule of law from the very beginning.

The legal principles and norms have been respected. The basic thoughts of the CPC to combat corruption have been forcefully presented through the country's judicial progress.

During the court hearing, the Jinan court allowed journalists and people from various walks of life to sit in the public gallery to hear the case. News media have covered the event in a timely and adequate fashion.

The court has actively explored judicial transparency, like a court spokesman who addressed the media during adjournments, and the opening of an official microblog account to provide real-time broadcast of proceedings in text.

The court also guaranteed the defendant his litigation rights, and during the five-day hearing, the defendant and his defense lawyers fully applied their procedural rights, such as presenting and questioning the evidence and defending their opinions.

In particular, at a pretrial hearing on Aug. 14 the court listened to the views of both procuratorial and defending parties on the case's jurisdiction, avoidance, trial, witness presence and exclusion of illegal evidence.

In key parts of the trial, the court required witnesses to testify in court, in line with the requirement of improving judicial procedure and ensuring defendant's litigation rights enshrined in China's amended Criminal Procedural Law.

To prove the three charges put forward by prosecutors, the court investigated a great deal of evidence by strictly following legal procedures. It shows the pursuit of a judicial concept true to facts and law, and of both procedural and substantive justice.

Unswervingly fighting corruption has been a consistent demand of the CPC. Both Party disciplines and the law can punish corrupt figures.

The essence of corruption is power abuse, so the key to anticorruption is to restrain and supervise power via systems, or combating corruption through the legal framework, the commentary said.

A series of recent graft cases show whoever commits crimes will be punished according to law.

"Only after we fight corruption with legal mind will people feel fairness and justice in every single legal case," said the commentary, noting that only in this way will the "special privilege" mentality be fundamentally contained.