The Supreme People's Court yesterday set up its own accounts on Sina Weibo and WeChat, two of the country's leading social media tools, in an effort to promote judicial transparency.

By 3pm yesterday, nearly 76,000 Weibo users had became "followers" of the account after it published its first post around 10am announcing the opening of the account.

Both Weibo and WeChat have millions of users in China. A statement on the SPC website said the new media accounts signal the SPC's efforts to boost openness, value public opinions and widen the channel for the masses to oversee judicial authorities.

Netizens hailed it as "a milestone for China's rule of law," and suggested the SPC lend ears to the grass-roots voices in comments posted on the court's microblog account. Some also pointed out that the Supreme People's Procuratorate should follow suit.

The SPC's statement said the move was aimed at building an Internet platform for judicial transparency and public service to increase interactions between the courts and the masses.

The Weibo and WeChat accounts will release important trial information from the SPC and local courts, judicial interpretations, and key documents, and will "take initiative to respond to social concerns,"

it said, adding that some information from the SPC website will also appear on its Weibo and WeChat accounts.

The SPC also asked subordinate courts to explore and enhance the use of new media in order to strengthen communication with the public, promote transparency, justice, judicial image and credibility.

In August, Chinese and foreign media hailed the openness and transparency showed by the real-time online broadcasts and updates from Bo Xilai's trial in the Jinan Intermediate People's Court. The 64-year-old former secretary of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and a former member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau was sentenced to life imprisonment for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power.

The Jinan court tweeted hundreds of real-time posts on the trial proceedings, including transcripts, pictures and audio and video files of evidence on its official Weibo account, which currently has more than 526,000 followers. Many of the posts and court pictures have been retweeted tens of thousands of times.

Using new media for timely and accurate disclosure of important trial information greatly satisfies public concern, analysts said.

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