Media must not judge suspects of corruption

Before a court issues its verdict on a suspected corrupt official, the media should not organize virtual kangaroo courts to pronounce him/her guilty, because every suspect has the right to a fair trial. The media should know that trying to twist a case or influence a judgment is an abuse of the freedom of expression and one's right to defense.

The mayor of the county-level city of Gaoping in Shanxi province was sacked last month for suspected violation of discipline. Later it came to light that she had established intimate relations with some of her superior and subordinate officials to seek favors, and many believe she is the first woman civil servant to be pulled up for adultery in recent years.

As soon as the news of her adultery became public, her photographs, family information and gossip flooded some of the social media websites. Perhaps the most used photograph on the Internet is one showing her in tears while begging not to be detained.

The normal media practice is to blur the face of a suspect in a photograph or video clip before printing it or flashing it on the TV screen. But the former Gaoping mayor was not accorded any such discretion by the media. Whither journalistic ethics?

Heated debates, riddled with conjectures and sarcastic comments, follow such reports and photographs on online social platforms or social media. In the former mayor's case what was originally "long-term adultery" became "frequent sexual affairs" and "some of her superior and subordinate" officials became "many" officials in the "reports" posted on Web portals and forums. Such sensationalism can win media outlets high target rating points but lead the public astray.

Worse, some media outlets in Shanxi became symbols of irony. All the reports and articles they carried on the former mayor before she was removed from her post praised her integrity and capability. But after she was sacked, the same media outlets took a U-turn and said she was a crafty, licentious and treacherous woman. The media outlets' capriciousness has left people confused: How could an honest official become treacherous and crafty overnight?

It is true that almost all the officials on the "blacklist" of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's website, which is updated almost once a week, have in the end been found guilty. But that does not mean the media can pass judgments on them before they are convicted by a court of law.

Last year, about 20,000 officials, from the level of town chiefs to senior State leaders, were tried in court for suspected corruption, and received various degrees of punishment according to the country's laws and the Party's constitution.

Despite that, top leader Xi Jinping said late last year that corrupt officials who are sacked and tried in court are not only testimony to the success of China's fight against corruption, but also a heavy loss for the country. In fact, many corrupt officials have regretted not getting a second chance to serve the people and rued the fact that their wrongs were not corrected before it was too late.

The media should know that rampant corruption is the result of lack of strict supervision, not individual actions. And Xi has repeatedly emphasized that China urgently needs to build institutions that can prevent people from falling prey to the lure of money.

Since the anti-corruption drive has been upgraded from a temporary case-by-case campaign to a long-term constitutional mission, the media should endeavor to improve the quality and perspective of their reports on corruption cases, focusing more on constructive analyses and promoting the rule of law.

China urgently needs a law to regulate the media and to ensure that media outlets coming out to dig the truth are not overshadowed by those that only want to cash in on sensationalism. And this is where the rule of law is especially important, because only strict implementation of the law can prevent the media from infringing upon the legal rights of people, even if they are suspects.

The author is a writer with China Daily.

liyang@chinadaily.com.cn