Opinion | End of Bo Xilai saga looks to be bad news for rule of law
Now that we've seen how the courts dealt with Gu and Wang, there is little hope ex-party chief's trial will be open and fair
Act III of the Bo Xilai saga has begun but it is likely to be brief, to clear the stage in time for the party's congress early next month.
However, if the trial of the former Chongqing party chief is just a show trial - like that of his wife Gu Kailai and his right-hand man, police chief Wang Lijun - it will be another blow to hopes for the rule of law on the mainland.
Many have contrasted the trial of Gu on August 10 with that of Jiang Qing , Mao Zedong's widow, 32 years ago after the fall of the Gang of Four, and note that while Jiang was given a chance to defend herself, resulting in an emotional, televised rant, Gu's seven-hour trial was disappointingly scripted.
Lack of drama aside, the trials of Gu in August and Wang last month exhibited troubling procedural irregularities and left many questions unanswered.
Gu was given a suspended death sentence for murdering English business partner Neil Heywood and was spared immediate execution only because the court accepted that she acted out of fear that Heywood might harm her son and that she suffered from psychological impairment. Meanwhile, Wang was given only a 15-year sentence for serious crimes like attempted defection, covering up Heywood's murder and taking bribes because the court said he turned himself in and that he "made significant contributions" to the subsequent investigation.
Gu's murder trial at the Hefei Intermediate People's Court lasted just seven hours, with no witnesses called. And while it was meant to be an open trial, with 140 people in attendance, they were all there by invitation. Wang's trial at the Chengdu Intermediate People's Court lasted for two days: four hours behind closed doors on the attempted defection charge on the first day; and a second day of supposedly open trial, where those in attendance were also invited.
Neither Bo nor the couple's son, Bo Guagua , both presumably key witnesses in the murder case, attended either trial. Only witness statements and expert statements were read at court, and the defendants all looked incredibly calm and admitted guilt.
