A local court [in the city of Langzhong, Sichuan province]…held a public sentencing of eight migrant laborers involved in a protest over unpaid wages. The court said the sentencing rally would educate the public about the law — but Chinese media and other observers criticized the move…[The workers] were reported to have been involved in a protest last August, when some 100 workers gathered in front of a local real estate developer’s office, to demand unpaid wages…

…Global Times [newspaper]…cited Chinese regulations which, it said, made it “illegal to parade the accused or the convicted through the streets”… Beijing Youth Daily newspaper… added that if the workers had tried to seek redress through legal channels and failed, then “we should ask whether the people who owed them money should not face even greater legal sanction,” and whether local officials should also be held responsible, Shanghai’s Dragon TV reported. The paper said that such public humiliation of workers would “boost the companies that don’t pay them,” and help to cover up the failings of local bureaucrats, while making it impossible for workers to obtain back pay….