China

Netizens watch murder trial live

By Qiu Quanlin (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-12-08 08:01

GUANGZHOU - A court in South China's Guangdong province broadcast a trial live online on Tuesday as part of the province's efforts to invite public scrutiny of its judicial system.

At local Internet portal dayoo.com netizens could watch a murder trial, in which a flower plant boss, Yu Xiuqi, faced a charge that he killed two partners on June 6.

The three-hour trial, which was heard at the Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court, was the first of its kind to be broadcast live online in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong.

The live broadcast followed a notice issued by the Supreme People's Court in September, which asked courts at all levels to promote judicial openness.

Unless prohibited by relevant laws, trials of public significance will be broadcast live online in the future to ensure the public's right to oversee the judicial system and make it more transparent, sources with the court's research office said.

"The online broadcast was a new challenge for me," said Yu Jinxia, the trial's chief judge. "I have to be more careful to avoid any mistakes as lots of people were watching the trial on their computers."

Netizens were also able to give their feedback via the Internet during the trial.

"Their comments are more like a mirror, which will refresh our minds and help us to make judgments more efficiently," Yu said.

By the end of the trial on Tuesday, more than 7,000 netizens had opened the link to the live broadcast, with many praising the court's efforts to improve judicial openness.

But some wondered whether live broadcasts might negatively affect rulings.

"Online broadcasts may psychologically affect judges, lawyers, and defendants and plaintiffs," Qiushui, a netizen, said.

Guangdong was not the first province to broadcast trials live online. Early in March, the Higher People's Court in Central China's Henan province broadcast a land lease dispute trial at Chinacourt.org to netizens across the country.

More than 81,000 judgment documents from Henan's courts are available on the Internet and online broadcasts have been implemented in all intermediate courts in Henan, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

China Daily