Reforms should be supported by action

I am happy to see that the central authority decided to let provincial authorities administer the personnel and funds of the city and county courts directly as this will help prevent local governments' interference with the judicature.

The administrative organs should not have power superior to the laws. But that is not enough, the legislature and judicature organs should be independent from the government at last. The direct provincial government cannot ensure judicial justice either, as so many senior level officials of and above provincial levels are found guilty of abusing power and graft recently.

It is necessary, as the central authority vowed in its reform plan, to prosecute government officials who break the law in handling cases. This is an overdue reaction to the people's strong call for a fair and independent judicature.

The judicial department's staff should not meddle with the investigation or trial of cases. It is important to set up a mechanism to record officials who interfere in judicial cases and name them publicly to hold them accountable. And there should be a lifelong accountability system for personnel.

So far, all the rule of law tasks exist on paper only. I hope the reform plan to deepen rule of law in the country can be implemented word for word. Next year will be an important period for translating the words into deeds.

To build a nation on rule of law, the government and the courts must abide by the law in the first place.

The author is an academician of the Institute of Oceanology with the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Qingdao, Shandong province. This article is edited from articles and materials provided by the author with her authorization.