Chinese murder trial broadcast live on the net

A murder trial in the Chinese city of Guangzhou has been broadcast live over the internet.

The trial was broadcast after the Supreme People’s Court issued a notice in September, that asked courts at all levels to promote judicial openness.

Local portal site, Dayoo broadcast the trial in which flower plant boss, Yu Xiuqi, faced the charge that he killed two partners on June 6 this year.

The three hour long trial received 7,000 visitors who were also able to give their feedback via the Internet. Some wondered whether live broadcasts might negatively affect rulings with one comment saying.

“Online broadcasts may psychologically affect judges, lawyers, and defendants and plaintiffs,”

The trial’s chief  judge, Yu Jinxia, quoted in China Daily, said,

“The online broadcast was a new challenge for me, I have to be more careful to avoid any mistakes as lots of people were watching the trial on their computers.”

“Their comments are more like a mirror, which will refresh our minds and help us to make judgments more efficiently”

While the broadcasting of the trial has been widely reported in China, the verdict has not. So we’re not sure if the defendant was found guilty.

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.