I'm sad to say that I have yet to see any glimmers of hope. The judiciary system is completely under the control of the Communist Party. All judges are appointed. They are under the direction of the government.
As I mentioned, in the overwhelming majority of political cases all the sentences were already predetermined. The judge was just there to keep order in the court, basically. It's not uncommon to see in political trials that while a witness is standing there, trying to plead their case, the judge would be pouring tea, chit-chatting and drinking tea as if they don't care. They don't listen. It's captured on video. You can go on YouTube. You can see for yourself how at these political trials some judges are just chit-chatting and they don't even pay attention. I have yet to see any glimmers of hope.