China holds outdoor trial of migrant workers protesting unpaid wages ‘to educate public in law’

A Chinese court held an outdoor trial for eight migrant workers protesting against unpaid wages to “educate the public in law”, the state-run The Beijing News reported on Friday.

Chinese courts occasionally hold public trials involving criminal offences, such as drug dealing and robbery, but such trials for labour offences are rare.

The workers were charged with obstructing police during a protest they staged last year to claim unpaid wages from their employer, a developer, the newspaper said.

The trial was held on Wednesday in Langzhong in southwestern Sichuan province.

Photos published online by the newspaper showed police holding people on stage facing a crowd, with a backdrop declaring that it was a public sentencing.

The eight were sentenced to between six and eight months in prison.