China's
Supreme People's Court has launched an investigation over the
documents it had lost two years ago in a sky-priced dispute worth
over a hundred-billion yuan between two mining companies.
In
the announcement released by the country's highest court on Saturday,
it also stressed the zero-tolerance principle over malfeasance, and
welcomed public supervision.
The
disappearance of the documents, which happened two years ago, hadn't been disclosed to the public until popular blogger Cui Yongyuan
posted on China's Twitter-like Weibo during the past week.
On
Sunday, a video recording of a man revealing how the documents had
been found lost went viral on Weibo. The man is believed to be the
supreme court judge, Wang Linqing, who presided over the
dispute.
He
said he had stored the documents in his office, but found them gone
on the morning of November 28, 2016. He also highlighted that two
closed-circuit TV cameras near his office had been sabotaged at the
time.
Man
believed to be supreme court judge Wang Linqing is telling his side
of the story in a video. / Screenshot on Weibo
Man
believed to be supreme court judge Wang Linqing is telling his side
of the story in a video. / Screenshot on Weibo
The
supreme court initially denied the veracity of Cui's post on Thursday
and Friday, but admitted to the loss in its third announcement.
"We
have started the investigation procedure regarding Weibo account
Cuiyongyuan's report. Welcome Cui Yongyuan and the public to provide
us with more clues to the case. "
"We
will handle the case in a serious manner if we find any practice of
malfeasance by our court staff," the announcement reads.
The court's announcement. / Screenshot on WeChat official
account
The court's announcement. / Screenshot on WeChat official
account
The
lost documents are believed to contain crucial details of a
15-year-old dispute between a private and state-owned firm over the
exploration and mining right of an energy base in northwest China's
Shanxi province. The energy base reportedly has two billion tonnes of
coal reserves and was engaged in a hundred-billion yuan contract
between the two firms back in 2003.
The
disappearance of the documents have generated much attention.
"There
is an old saying, 'Truth should not only be realized, but also be
realized under transparency'," said the People's Daily on
Sunday, arguing that the people would be convinced of fairness and
justice as long as the authorities be true to the facts, and work
with sincerity and better transparency.
People's Daily shares views regarding the case. / Screenshot on Weibo
People's Daily shares views regarding the case. / Screenshot on Weibo