Reporter's logs: The stories that shaped our year

Justice must never be allowed to arrive too late

Last year was unforgettable as the COVID-19 epidemic disrupted everyone's plans. My life was affected, too.

But as the outbreak pressed the "pause" button on the world, it made me understand more clearly the values I should uphold and the things that should not be forgotten in my work and life.

Last year, several people who had been held in wrongful detention for decades were acquitted because the evidence in their cases was not strong enough to ensure their convictions.

Of them, the case of Zhang Yuhuan aroused the most attention and left the deepest impression on me.

Zhang, from Jiangxi province, had his name cleared on Aug 4 after it was ruled that there was insufficient evidence for his intentional homicide conviction. He had been detained for about 27 years.

When the 53-year-old, dubbed "China's longest-serving wrongfully convicted inmate", was freed, he returned home with his older brother.

As Zhang's story triggered outrage, the spotlight was cast on his ex-wife Song Xiaonyu and her struggle to help him appeal, while also raising two toddlers and battling cancer.

In August and September, Zhang and Song were two hot names on Chinese social media platforms.

A video clip circulated in which Song said Zhang owed her a hug the next time they met.

In an online statement, Song said she had left their village, traveled to Guangdong province as a migrant worker and then remarried a few years after Zhang had been detained.

She took that course of action because she needed money, not only to raise the two sons she had with Zhang and to help him appeal, but also to pay for treatment to remove noncancerous growths from her uterus.

"I didn't want to become a financial burden on the Zhang family," she wrote.

In October, the court awarded Zhang compensation of 4.8 million yuan ($738,754).

Song said she never supported Zhang's appeal to profit financially.

Her statement and response gained her great respect, but Wang Fei, the lawyer who acted on Zhang's behalf, felt that Song and her ex-husband deserved much more.

He lauded the public's great support and determination to uphold justice, and he suggested that compensation levels should be raised.

He added that he wanted to see those responsible for the wrongful conviction held to account and for Zhang to be accepted back into society.

"Zhang was isolated from the world for quite a long time," Wang said. He was concerned that his client would not be able to integrate into today's fast-developing internet era, and whether he would receive social assistance, such as psychological help.

In light of the harsh, but touching story, Wang called for more help to be available when people like Zhang meet with overwhelming difficulties.

He added that punishing those who made the mistake and highlighting the need to reject evidence obtained illegally, such as under duress, would be an effective deterrent to wrongful convictions.

In the greater scheme of things, 27 years may not seem a long time. However, they should have been the best years of Zhang's life.

As such, it is obvious that we should recognize the importance of upholding justice in each and every case.

Looking back on the 10 years I have spent reporting legal stories, I remember being impressed by the words of a senior judge when she was addressing new workers in her court.

"We must be serious and cautious in handling every dispute, as sometimes we are not dealing with small things-rather, it may be someone's life," she said.

I believe that if every judicial professional and ordinary person keeps those words in mind, justice will never arrive too late.

Cao Yin