PANDA TWINS: Twin panda cubs, one male and one female, at a breeding center in northwest China's Shaanxi Province on June 30 (XUE YUBIN)

Historical Records

Confessions made by 45 Japanese war criminals tried and convicted by military tribunals in China after World War II (WWII) were published online on July 3.

Handwritten confessions, along with Chinese translations and summaries in both Chinese and English, have been published on the website of the State Archives Administration, the administration's Deputy Director Li Minghua announced at a press conference.

The archives constitute irrefutable evidence of the heinous crimes committed by Japanese imperialists against the Chinese people, according to Li.

"Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe disregards history and human conscience, and has been openly trying to claim black is white, misleading the public, and beautifying Japanese aggression and its colonial history since he took office," Li told reporters. "This challenges the post-WWII international order."

Li added that his administration made the war criminals' confessions available online before the 77th anniversary of the July 7 incident to commemorate history, cherish peace and prevent the reliving of such historical tragedies, Li added.

The July 7 incident, commonly known as the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in English, occurred in 1937 and marked the beginning of China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, which lasted eight years.

Earlier on June 30, the Museum of the War of the Chinese People's Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in Beijing also launched a digital library of relics from the war via Baidu Baike, the online encyclopedia of China's top search engine Baidu.

The program features photographs of artifacts preserved in the museum, including diaries, letters and guns, among other items.

Credit Assessment

On June 27, China released an outline for building a government-led system to assess credit worthiness in four categories, including administrative affairs, commercial activities, social behavior and the judicial system.

The State Council, China's cabinet, pledged in the document to establish a set of laws and regulations regarding social credit, a credit reference system that covers the whole of society, and a related reward and punishment mechanism by 2020.

According to the outline, individuals and organizations will be coded based on identity card or organizational numbers to allow different sectors to share credit information.

Credit records will include information on financial, industrial and commercial registration, taxes and social security payments, as well as traffic violations.

Fast-Track Trials

China's top legislature approved a pilot program on June 27 that will speed up trials for minor criminal offenses.

The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) adopted a resolution authorizing the Supreme People's Court and Supreme People's Procuratorate to start the program.

Cases can be fast-tracked when evidence is sufficient, the law is not contested, the defendant pleads guilty and sentencing will be no more than one year or a fine, according to the resolution.

The fast-track trials can apply to minor criminal cases such as traffic offences, minor theft or fraud, assault and robbery.

The pilot will run for two years, in 18 cities including Beijing, Chongqing, Shanghai and Tianjin, where such cases are often backlogged.