Chinese social media users are increasingly raising questions about televised "confessions" and how they affect the country's rule of law. Prominent human rights lawyer Wang Yu is the latest to appear in a widely disseminated online video, renouncing her legal work for the Beijing Fengrui Law Firm. She has subsequently been freed, though many people online believe that she made the video under duress. Televised confessions have become a trend in the past four years under Xi Jinping's presidency, and include confessions of crime, but also confessions of perceived dissent. They have faced common mockery online, from users who say such videos discredit people before they are given a fair trial. Read more
