Chapter 747: The court's verdict!
Translator: Legge Editor: - -
Today.
It was the day of the official hearing of Zhang Ye's court case against Central TV Department 1!
Online, Zhang Ye's fans were already riled up.
"Teacher Zhang will definitely score a victory in the opening battle!"
"Evil shall not prevail, the truth will live on forever!"
"Teacher Zhang, I'll be cheering you on!"
"It's finally the day of the court hearing! How nerve-wracking!"
"Looking forward to Teacher Zhang's triumphant return!"
"All debts must be repaid! It's perfectly justified!
In recent days, society's attention had been focused on every development and change that would affect the case. On the second day after Zhang Ye submitted his petition, the court rejected his request for a compensation of 100 million RMB. Perhaps due to the ridiculous amount of compensation requested, after some communication with Zhang Ye, the petition's requested compensation was changed to about 17,000 RMB, two times the amount of his salary. Two days later, in the first out-of-court mediation session, a representative of Central TV Department 1 agreed to an out-of-court settlement, but were only willing to compensate Zhang Ye his salary for the month. Other than that, there would be no further compensation, so Zhang Ye rejected the settlement. On that same day, Zhang Ye was involved in an altercation outside the court with the representative of Central TV Department 1 and their attorney. This was photographed by the media and the incident escalated even further!
The torches of dispute were being lit one by one!
Today, there should finally be an end to it!
Early in the morning, Haidian People's Court was already overcrowded with people. The parking lot was filled with vehicles, half of which were press vehicles. The entire nation's numerous reporters from the newspapers, media, and television stations were all carrying their camcorders or cameras and waiting outside the entrance. The district court was packed with people on both the inside and the outside, in the front and back yards of the court. There was another group of people on location—the residents living nearby had come to observe the proceedings as well.
"Hello, everyone…"
"Everyone, I am currently standing outside Haidian People's Court…"
"The lawsuit between Zhang Ye and Central TV Department 1 that everyone has been paying attention to will start its proceedings in an hour, but the venue right now is already fully packed with the media and onlookers. Zhang Ye is nowhere to be seen yet, same as the representatives of Central TV Department 1, but we will be reporting to everyone firsthand on the latest updates."
Quite a number of cameras had been set up on location to provide real-time situation reports to the viewing audience.
There were also some reporters who attempted to sneak into court but were stopped by the court officers and staff. The whole of Haidian People's Court was closely guarded, with three times more court officers deployed to guard the place, as if readying for battle.
Suddenly, a BMW X5 arrived at the court grounds.
"Look!"
"That's Zhang Ye's car!"
"Zhang Ye has arrived!"
All it took was a few shouts for all the reporters to swarm over!
Coincidentally, the Central TV Department 1 representative and attorney also arrived in a car behind him.
When the reporters saw this, a large group of them split off towards the other car before it could even come to a stop. Everyone pushed their microphones towards the car's windows, gradually becoming louder and making a commotion with their questions!
"Can you tell us if Central TV Department 1 often delays the salary payment to their employees?" a female reporter asked.
The Central TV Department 1 representative was Jiang Yuan. When he heard that question, he rebuked, "Watch your words. This is not a case of delaying the salary payment. The reason for the late salary payment was due to a system error."
The female reporter questioned further, "Then why did everyone from Department 1 receive theirs except for Zhang Ye?"
Jiang Yuan frowned. "It was an error with the system, how would I know? But his salary has been paid to him now."
A male reporter quickly asked, "Deputy Director Jiang, what do you think the odds are of winning this lawsuit?"
Jiang Yuan answered confidently, "We believe we can win. On this, we have a clear conscience and also believe that the court will hand down a fair ruling!"
A reporter next to the previous one asked, "When the case ends, what are the future plans regarding Zhang Ye's work arrangem—"
Jiang Yuan did not answer. He stepped out of the car and squeezed forward through the crowd. "Make way, make way!"
The Central TV Department 1 attorney stood in front and helped clear the way for Jiang Yuan. "The court will be in session soon. If you all still have questions, please ask after the trial is over!"
They just wanted to quickly get into the court and skip answering the questions from the reporters. However, when they curiously glanced in Zhang Ye's direction, they nearly fainted from what they saw!
Zhang Ye did not look like he had any intention to get into the court quickly at all. Instead, he stood outside with the reporters and began bullshitting. He trumpeted with a strong sense of righteousness, "The labor workforce should not have their salaries held back as it is a form of respect for their contributions and it is also the foundation to keep this society running! There was a Spring Festival Gala host who mentioned online that the salary payment was only late by a day, and feels that I am making a big fuss over a small issue. That is what Central TV Department 1 seems to think as well, so let me ask this! If Central TV Department 1 wanted me to complete a program recording by today, would it be fine if I finish it a day late? If Central TV Department 1 calls me to attend a meeting to discuss something urgent, would it be fine if I went a day late? If Central TV Department 1 wants the endorsement fees for The Voice which goes through our program team's account to be transferred to Central TV because they urgently need the funds, can I do it a day late? Those who have experience in a workplace would know that this is not OK! That is why I wonder: why is it that whatever we do at work, we cannot be late by a day! That is definitely not allowed! But what about you all? If it is a day late, then it is forgivable? Yet now you're saying that I'm making a big fuss over a small issue? Based on what!? Isn't that a double standard!?"
A number of the surrounding onlookers all cheered at this!
"That's right!"
"Well said!"
"You're absolutely right!"
"Zhang Ye, I'm supporting you!"
"Fight it out with them!"
"I'm sick of these idiots who delay our salaries and act as if there's nothing wrong with it!"
Zhang Ye proclaimed righteously, "To us common folk, the court is not a good place. I am not someone who likes to be in the spotlight, but I am willing to stand up today! Not for anything else but my vindication! I want to fight it out with this unhealthy corporate culture and mindset! I also hope that I can lead by example for all the other artists by being the first to do something like this! Whoever stated that if the television stations infringe on our interests, we would have to stay silent in fear of offending them? Artists are also people! They also have the freedom to protect their legal rights and interests! What is white—can never be black! And what is black…will never ever be white!"
Jiang Yuan nearly blew up. You are not someone who likes to be in the spotlight? Bull f**king shit!
But when the people heard this, they all broke out into rapturous applause. Everyone who had ever been in a disadvantageous position when they worked for their companies all sided with Zhang Ye at this moment!
"That was very well said!"
"It isn't easy for the artists either!"
"Teacher Zhang, all the best!"
"We will be behind you all the way!"
All that could be heard at the entrance of the court was Zhang Ye's righteous blabbering.
Even the usually glib reporters could only watch with eagerness, unable to say a word to interrupt him. This fellow was far too good at oration!
Zhang Ye continued again all by himself, talking for a long time.
Finally, when a female reporter from Beijing Evening News could no longer listen on, she reminded him, "About that, Teacher Zhang, I think your court will be in session very soon."
Zhang Ye took a look at his watch and exclaimed "aiyo" before hurriedly rushing in.
The reporters didn't know whether to laugh or cry. They wanted to follow in after him but were stopped by the court officers. The court session today was not open to public.
...
Inside the court.
The judge and several court personnel were looking out from the windows in a very speechless manner.
One of them said, "Just how many reporters are there outside? Including the onlookers, there must be several hundred of them out there!"
Another person smiled wryly. "The previous case of the dispute involving a sum of 500 million RMB only attracted seven, eight reporters. That's not even 10% of the numbers that turned out today. Isn't this just a dispute over a salary of just over 8,000 RMB? But look at the commotion it is causing at our courthouse. It started two days ago. There are even reporters who have been calling my landline for the past few days. I wonder how they found my number; they must really have a good network of contacts!"
A woman said, "The dispute amount might not be high, but this case is different in nature. A celebrity's case involves a lot of things, therefore the impact is wider as well. Moreover, this is the first case in the entertainment circle that an artist is suing a television station, so how can it not have a large effect?"
They were actually feeling rather nervous as well. Now that Haidian People's Court was in the sights of the national media, they would be scrutinized under a microscope. That put a lot of pressure on them!
At this moment, the chief judge spoke with a serious tone, "Pack it in. The court will be in session soon."
...
Tieba.
There was constant buzz among the netizens!
"The court is already in session, right?"
"Yeah, it's time!"
"I wonder how it's going! Why didn't they do a live broadcast of it!"
"Just wait for the court's decision. Hopefully, it will be a fair one!"
"That might not happen as this lawsuit is mainly about Zhang Ye's salary. The Voice's overseas copyright has not yet been sold by Central TV Department 1 without Zhang Ye's knowledge, so that wouldn't affect the judgment here. Didn't the court already reject Zhang Ye's request for 100 million in compensation? It's precisely because the copyright and salary issues are two different things. If we talk about how Zhang Ye's salary was paid late to him by only a couple days, then the court might not support Zhang Ye's petition."
"Right, Central TV still has a lot of influence and standing, so it won't be easy to say who will win this lawsuit!"
"F**k, if Teacher Zhang does not win this lawsuit, I will go and scold Central TV Department 1 everyday!"
...
On Weibo.
"Just what's the situation like?"
"Is there anyone here who is attending the trial? Do a live stream, please!"
"I heard that Zhang Ye did not appoint a lawyer this time. He filed the petition on his own and will be his own prosecutor!"
"Ah? For real?"
"It's true! The newspapers have already reported about it!"
"Damn. Then won't he lose for sure? The opponent is a professional lawyer, how could Teacher Zhang possibly outtalk him?"
"That I'm not too worried about. It's not like we don't know what Zhang Ye's speaking ability is like, so even if it's a lawyer he's up against, he might not necessarily lose to him. But I do worry that Teacher Zhang's legal expertise is not good enough. When they bring up certain laws and regulations, he might not be able to answer them."
"Yeah, this is really going to be quite open!"
"Let's just wait for the decision! Anxiously waiting!"
Suddenly, the Weibo account of a host who had disappeared from the entertainment circle for many years suddenly turned active and was updated with a new post. It simply said: "Zhang Ye, fight on!"
The netizens cried out in alarm.
"Wow!"
"It's Old Luo! An ex-host of Central TV Department 1!"
"After having been banned and suppressed for so many years, Old Luo has finally made an appearance again!"
"Back then, Central TV Department 1 really did bring Old Luo crashing down and even got him banned!"
"Teacher Luo has come forward to show his support for Teacher Zhang! I'm numb. Somehow, I feel like I'm suddenly overcome with emotions. Teacher Luo, Teacher Zhang, you're both heroes of our times!"
Old Luo replied on his Weibo: "I'm not, but Zhang Ye is."
Following that, another two artists who had previously been banned by their provincial satellite stations, and as a result, left the entertainment industry, also publicly showed their support for Zhang Ye!
"It's Old Lao!"
"Big Sister Niu is also showing her support for Zhang Ye!"
"Big Sister Niu, where have you gone too all these years?!"
"They're all veterans!"
"Awesome! Everyone is starting to come forward!"
"I really wish that Teacher Zhang could see this now, so that he knows that he has the support from those in the same industry! It was only because they did not dare to stand up for him in the past! And were pressured not to give him any support!"
...
Outside the court.
The reporters and onlookers were anxiously waiting. Some cameramen who were afraid to miss a shot did not even stop their camcorders from rolling. They were constantly kept in recording mode as they focused on the main entrance of the court.
One hour!
Two hours!
Three hours!
After a long wait, the media's personnel felt it was a little too much and were surprised at how long the hearing was taking.
"Why is it taking so long?"
"It's really slow!"
"What's happening inside? Why is it taking so long to come to a decision?"
"It's just a salary dispute, surely the hearing can't last for three hours?"
"Yeah, Zhang Ye isn't a professional lawyer after all. Without any legal foundation, would he be able to argue with the attorney for so long?"
"Let's wait a little more. It should be over soon!"
"Could there be some changes somehow? Could the lawsuit have been overruled by the judge?"
At 11:40 AM, there was news coming from inside that the trial had ended!
In an instant, the reporters were camping at the entrance with their equipment in hand!
"What's the outcome?"
"How did it go?"
"What was the decision by the court?"
"Who won?"
The media personnel were all fully concentrated with their eyes opened wide!
Shortly after, they saw the court personnel walking out, followed by Central TV Department 1's Deputy Director Jiang Yuan and the attorney. The two of them had rather sunken expressions at this moment, and even the way they were walking out carried a hint of anger!
The media personnel looked at them in shock!
At the same moment, the verdict was also explosively revealed!
Haidian People's Court had ruled in favor of Zhang Ye receiving a compensation from Central TV Department 1, a sum totaling 17,567 RMB!
Zhang Ye won!!