The New Express, based in Guangzhou, published a rare front-page plea for the release of one of its journalists yesterday, drawing public concern. Chen Yongzhou, the journalist, was detained by Changsha police last week for suspected damage to commercial reputation. His series of reports accused a State-owned construction company (Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Development) of corruption. The All-China Journalists' Association said yesterday that it has already become involved in the investigation and will protect journalists' right to interview.

As of last night, the Changsha police gave further explanations for the arrest, saying Chen is accused of three criminal acts including fabricating facts about Zoomlion's loss of State assets and financial fraud. Zoomlion told the media that Chen had never conducted any interviews with staff there. According to insiders, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the CPC and the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee have become involved in the case. The New Express said Chen was only carrying out his duties and the police should sue the newspaper rather than arrest the journalist.

The calls for "justice" have also sounded alarm bells. The demand from The New Express has gained more sympathy online, and the Changsha authorities have been put in an unfavorable position. We hope this case will be dealt with according to law. The key is whether Chen's reports are true and whether they infringe upon the legal interests of Zoomlion.

Supervision from public opinion is still a new thing in China. The media is not mature in its critical reporting. Obviously, the case deeply involves the Chinese press and the development of enterprises. How to judge the case has great significance for similar cases in the future.

Meanwhile, the case should not be viewed as a confrontation between online opinions and judicial authorities. In the future, conflicts and lawsuits between media watchdogs and those being exposed are bound to take place. These are the necessary steps that China's opinion supervision and press laws develop. After the tough experience of online storms, Chinese society will adapt to these cases and learn to consider each case as it stands. This will quell the current fever for relating everything to the "inaction" of judicial authorities. As this case has gained a great deal of attention and it seems that each side has its reasonable say, we call for legitimate and transparent investigations at every step so as to boost confidence in judicial justice.

We hope a conclusion comes in an orderly manner and is persuasive. The judicial justice and the public's confidence toward judicial justice are the most precious in current society.  If the Changsha authorities cannot make the case, authorities at a higher level should get involved. This may cause some trouble, but this is what the government needs to face given the credibility it has lost in recent years.