"I’d started out as a crime and court reporter in Singapore, so I’m fairly familiar with the inside of a courtroom: the solemn atmosphere, the rituals involved, the air conditioning that gives you a slight chill," writes Elizabeth Law, a correspondent based in Singapore.

"So when told I was one of three foreign journalists allowed to attend the retrial of Canadian Robert Lloyd Schellenberg -- more on the case later -- I jumped at the opportunity since it offered a front-row seat to China’s usually ultra-secretive court system."  

"And what I saw that cold winter day in the northeast port city of Dalian was equal parts fascinating and mind-boggling."