Many Chinese do not want to think and say that their protest and demonstration worked in Liang's defense. In fact, this is how politics works in the US. Demonstrations and protests always work. Judges and persecutors and politicians have to pay attention to how the public view their actions. There is no exception to this even though the judges, persecutors and politician usually would not admit this at all. That is one of the reasons why the US calls itself a democracy.

If the Chinese people had not protested and demonstrated, Ken Thompson, the African American persecutor in this case, would most probably press the case as hard as he could to gain political mileage from the African American community for his legal career. But because the Chinese saw the injustice against Liang as an injustice against their community, and refused to allow the officer to bear the burden alone, Thompson had to think about the potential consequences of his charges against Liang. Consequently, Thomas expressed his intention that he would not ask for prison term for the officer, instead he would propose five year probation, half year house arrest and 500 hours community service, something that was much lighter than a second degree murder would warrant.

Danny Chun, the judge in this case, has gone even further now. He decided to reduce the charge from second degree murder to criminal negligent homicide, and sentenced him to five year probation and 800 hours of community service. Liang now does not need to do prison time any more. This sentence is a victory for the officer as well as for the American Chinese community.

This case is very meaningful for the community. They now have learned that collective action is important in the US.

The author is a professor at Warren Wilson College, North Carolina, and a guest professor at Hebei University.

The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and don't represent views of China Daily website.