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Judges in a court in China turned themselves into live-stream salespeople to help a debtor sell her products and cover her debt, attracting 200,000 viewers and winning widespread applause. On October 31, the Gaochun District People’s Court in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, eastern China, became an effective live-streaming sales venue. Three judges were spotted selling crabs online in a session hosted by the city’s Intermediate People’s Court official account. The trio of judges from the city attracted over 200,000 viewers with their special part-time job. Many online observers expressed their shock, with one saying: “I cannot believe my eyes.” It turned out the judges had moved their traditional judicial auctions online, but their style of presentation resembled professional live-streaming salespeople so much that many observers were confused. The session aimed to help a debtor sell her crab products to pay off her dues. The debtor, Qiu Lan, had been in debt for a decade. Her parents, who used to run a shipping business, owed substantial debt after a collision accident. Then, in 2015, Qiu’s mother caused a traffic accident and was ordered to pay 260,000 yuan (US$36,000) in compensation to the plaintiff. The Gaochun court allowed the family to pay the debt in instalments. However, the family was unlucky. They entered the crab farming business but had been losing money for years due to their lack of professional knowledge. Over the past decade their debt rose to 800,000 yuan (US$112,000). Despite their plight, Qiu’s family always kept their promise and paid around 28,000 yuan (US$4,000) to their creditors every year. In September this year, Qiu’s family applied for personal bankruptcy with the Gaochun court. The court went through their bank accounts and carried out a field visit to their crab farm to confirm that the family had made a genuine application for bankruptcy. The court helped them contact their creditors, who unanimously agreed to offer them a 10 per cent discount on the debt if they pay it off. It then connected the family with an expert in crab farming, who helped them harvest crabs this year. The expert also agreed to work with the family in the future. Then the court took responsibility for selling the crabs online. Over 100 orders were sold in a session that lasted two and a half hours, according to the National Business Daily. The court said they had sold out the Qiu family’s crabs and saved the revenue to the court’s escrow account to repay their debt. Other than selling crabs during the live-stream, the judges also promoted legal literacy and introduced the country’s new personal bankruptcy programme that helps debtors clear off dues with dignity. “In this court ‘serving the people’ is not a slogan but a real promise,” said an online observer. “Live-streaming sales has become an essential skill no matter what job you do,” said another.
