Such an "innovation" is retrogressive and not progress of China's judicial system.

Wang Qingfeng (www.changsha.cn): How can offenders of law show regret during the probationary period? The answer is as simple as doing community service under Ningbo's "good deeds for nonprosecution" program. But this program has an obvious flaw: The "good deeds" are done because the offenders have no choice.

"A program manipulating loopholes in the law"—this is the first impression of the program for many people. In reality, not everyone is noble enough. Laws are meant to be ruthless. If we insist on showing leniency of the law, it'll put us in an awkward situation.

The new program in Ningbo was drafted by a local procurator during a month-long convalescence. The whole process lacks any survey of public opinion, argument and revision. In essence, it only has theoretical feasibility.

The progressive aspect of conditional nonprosecution is worth praise indeed, but that shouldn't be a reason for ignoring its potential risks. This kind of policy should be implemented as little as possible.

Wang Changlian (Changsha Evening Newspaper): It can be predicted each offender subject to the "good deeds for nonprosecution" program will behave very well during the probation period so as to pass any special test as a voluntary worker. That's because, to save themselves, they will be more hardworking and earnest than at any other time. They will also be more law-abiding and faithful. But once the goal is achieved and the person is exempted from prosecution, they would go back to being the persons they used to be. Thus, the whole process will probably become a show of impudence from offenders.

Worth a try

Meng Tianlan (Luzhong Morning News): One must be punished once he or she violates the law. This is common sense for everyone. But many people have misinterpreted punishment as the ultimate goal of legal proceedings. Conditional nonprosecution can help people realize punishment is only one method.

Besides, punishment is a double-edged sword and not the most ideal method. Extremely vicious criminals deserve punishment but it's debatable if others, who commit unintentional crimes or only cause minor damage to society, should be punished according to the same standards.

Punishment imposed on criminals by judicial bodies incurs costs. For example, during a person's jail time, he or she is being supported by taxpayers, which is a direct cost. Besides, a person could have created more value in the society than in jail, which is the invisible cost. What's more, it's not easy for a person to become acclimated to society after jail time and find a new job. Some people even choose to go back to their old ways due to their failure to integrate into society, which is a bigger risk.

If a person unintentionally commits only a minor crime and is quite unlikely to repeat it, we should show leniency toward him or her. "Conditional nonprosecution" is a significant attempt to bring about this purpose. It makes people realize, again, that punishment is only a method, which is beneficial for creating an atmosphere of tolerance. Sometimes, tolerance works better than punishment. Some people argue there are now no relevant laws or regulations, but that's the meaning of the pilot project. Improvement is acquired through changing.

Jiao Wanghua (Legal Daily): "Conditional nonprosecution" is likely to remarkably reduce the workload of judicial bodies and also eases pressure arising from too many cases and too limited judicial resources. More importantly, it doesn't have the intention of pardoning offenders indiscriminately. For example, for traffic accidents, conditional nonprosecution will not apply to offenders involved in drinking and driving, hit-and-run, unlicensed driving and running red light incidents. Also, it's stipulated the program's activation should have the consent of concerned victims and the procuratorial departments should review the criminal and moral history of offenders.

It's certain, when it is used improperly, conditional nonprosecution may lead to abuses of judicial power. But well-devised regulations can effectively prevent this problem from happening. Therefore, it's theoretically practical to implement the "good deeds for nonprosecution" program for unintentional offenders who display contrite behavior.

Wang Jianzhou (Liaoning Legal News): In dealing with crimes, we have pursued absolute justice and relied heavily on punishment. From the perspective of the whole of society, absolute justice is only an ideal while relative justice is tangible and achievable. The "good deeds for nonprosecution" program has absolute, positive significance in healing the pain of society. So far, the program at least hasn't brought about any negative effects in society.

The Criminal Law has definite regulations on conditions on exempting law offenders from prosecution. Procuratorial organs have a definite legal basis and rules about the implementation of nonprosecution rather than pardoning vicious people indiscriminately. We should be clear on that.