China's policy towards criminals is striding towards "moderating severity with leniency." Statistics show that China decided not to approve the arrest of 29,334 suspects and not to prosecute 14,939 of those arrested last year.

When delivering this year's work report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, procurator-general Jia Chunwang said emphatically that relevant authorities should earnestly implement the policy towards criminals of "moderating severity with leniency" and be cautious about arrest and prosecution. "Do not arrest suspects who you may let go; do not prosecute suspects who you may give a pass." Supreme People's Court President Xiao Yang also mentioned the "moderating severity with leniency" policy in his report and added that the courts would "sentence guilty criminals and release innocent suspects."

Several misadjudicated cases were uncovered in 2005, arousing judicial authorities' deep concern about the protection of human rights, the legality of evidences and the legitimacy of procedures.

Experts point out that China's vigorous promotion of the "moderating severity with leniency" policy can be regarded as great progress in the country's judicial ideology. But leniency does not mean bestowing favors outside the law and severity is not equivalent to piling weight upon weight with no end. The essential of the policy is to be severe or lenient, depending on what is called for.

(China News Service March 15, 2006)