Swedish activist Peter Dahlin, who was detained by Chinese authorities in early January, was released and deported on Monday.

Dahlin is one of two Swedes to have been detained by the Chinese authorities recently. The other is China-born Gui Minhai, who is also a Swedish national. He had allegedly fled the Chinese mainland after he was involved in a fatal hit-and-run 12 years ago.

Both had attracted wide attention upon news of their detention, especially after they appeared on China Central Television (CCTV) and confessed their crimes. The confessions through China's most-watched TV station stoked the fire of debate. On Monday, the Swedish embassy in Beijing expressed "concerns" about the televised confession via its official Sina Weibo account.

Recent years have seen several cases of this kind, with suspects, both Chinese and foreigners, admitting their guilt on CCTV before their trial. Some have criticized CCTV and some authorities for letting a TV station take the place of a court.

The adoption of public confession through State media, first of all, is out of request from the public for more information transparency, for example, the whereabouts of the suspect. Such requests pose challenges to authorities. Even if the family of the suspect has been notified, the public asks for more information. Information exposure through public media serves such a purpose.

But some controversial cases cannot avoid being seen from a different perspective, one in opposition to authorities' detention of those people and which will refuse to accept their confession in any way. Those people also refuse to acknowledge the progress China has made in the rule of law.

Chen Xinxin, a research fellow in law at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences said that if Dahlin, as a suspect, was willing to admit his crimes on TV without being coerced, it is not illegal for CCTV to broadcast the confession according to Chinese laws. Besides, what CCTV did has also conformed to the public's right to know, since the crimes Dahlin was charged with have much to do with the public interest. In his confession, Dahlin said he has been treated well.

However, good intentions might invite unexpected interpretations, according to Chen. In the process of law enforcement, not every detail is perfect. But this shouldn't be overly exaggerated.

This gives us more thought about how the media should cooperate with law enforcement. More prudent consideration of possible scenarios and repercussions must be given to publicity, or it will easily backfire. In this aspect, we think there is room for improvement.