A Beijing court became the first to throw its doors wide open to the public.

Students, soldiers, officials and people's congress deputies were among the first batch of 300 people who toured the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court Sunday.

They visited the courtrooms, detention rooms, visiting room for suspects in death sentence cases, reception hall for litigants and service facilities.

"Visiting the court helped me better understand how our country is strengthening the judicial system," said Ma Longshan, 70.

Ma is a former Ministry of Foreign Affairs official who has never set foot in the court.

"There seemed to be a big gap between me and the court in the past. I did not understand its work well.

"By visiting the court, I know its functions better and know more about the legal process," Ma said.

Ma was impressed by the big screen used to display documentary evidence.

"This is very advanced," he said.

"The court is so considerate," Ma said. "When people come here for a lawsuit, there are judges on duty for consultation. There are legal aid instructors available, and paper and pens are provided by the court to litigants."

The visit to the court was not the first for Cheng Naizhi, a deputy to the People's Congress of Fengtai District, where the court is located.

"I came to the court twice before to hear a lawsuit and attend a seminar," Cheng said.

"A communication system has been established between us and the court," he added.

He sang high praise of the court's move to invite residents.

"Delegates have advised court staff to invite residential communities," he said..

"Residents are now invited to come to the court, which was previously believed to be a mysterious place. This will effectively enhance the legal sense among residents."

"As the judicial authority, we should be supervised by society," said Wang Zhenqing, president of the court.

"The whole work procedure of the court will be open to the public," he vowed.

"We dare to expose our shortcomings to residents as we dare to invite them here," Wang said.

The public day will become a regular occurrence at the court, Wang said.

Established in 1995, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court has jurisdiction over lawsuits within nine districts and counties including Dongcheng, Chaoyang, Shunyi and Pinggu.

The court has 13 judicial tribunals and 402 staff.

(China Daily September 20, 2004)