Lianhe Zao: Three "unexpected things" about the public trial of Bo Xilai

Lianhe Zao: Three "unexpected things" about the public trial of Bo Xilai The unexpected openness of the authorities, the unexpected tenacity of Bo Xilai, and the unexpected professionalism of the court not only increased...

"I didn't expect that Bo Xilai's trial would be so exciting and tortuous, just like watching an imported blockbuster." A friend couldn't hide his excitement yesterday and called me specifically to talk about his feelings about Bo Xilai's appearance in court.

To be honest, I had three "unexpected thoughts" about Bo Xilai's public trial, which attracted worldwide attention: I didn't expect the government to be so open and release first-hand information about Bo Xilai's trial in a timely and detailed manner for the world to judge; secondly, I didn't expect Bo Xilai to be so tenacious and firmly deny the accusations despite the tight chain of evidence that his wife and friends testified about his alleged bribery; I didn't expect such a high-level trial and prosecution to occur in China, which has a low level of rule of law.

The last trial of a former Politburo member in China was the trial of Chen Liangyu in Tianjin on March 25, 2008. At that time, the official simply announced that the trial was scheduled in a courtroom that could only accommodate more than 30 people, and the auditorium was not yet full. The auditors were mainly composed of officials from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Supreme Procuratorate, and the Supreme Court. Apart from video and photography, there were no reporters or family members present at the trial. The trial was temporarily adjourned at 12 noon, resumed at 1:30 pm, and ended at 5 pm. Chen Liangyu was taken back to Qincheng Prison the next day. After many days of silence, on April 11, the Tianjin No. 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced Chen Liangyu to 18 years in prison for bribery and abuse of power. It was not until the Chen Liangyu case was settled that some media outlets gradually broke the news about Chen Liangyu's trial process.

In August and September 2012, officials tried Bo Xilai's wife Gu Kailai and Wang Lijun, the former deputy mayor and public security director of Chongqing, who directly led to Bo Xilai's dismissal. These two trials were significantly more public than the Chen Liangyu case. Officials not only announced the trial date, but also held a press conference on the day of the trial to disclose relevant content. Some analysts believe that given Bo Xilai's political influence and tough personality, it is unlikely that the authorities will hold a public trial for him. At most, Bo Xilai will be tried according to the trial model of Gu Kailai and Wang Lijun, so as to prevent the situation from getting out of control and preventing the authorities from stepping down.

The excellent performance in court by the judge, prosecution and defense personnel, and witnesses provided guarantee for the smooth progress of this "big drama". Chen Youxi, a well-known lawyer who often criticizes China's weak rule of law, said in his blog: "The openness and fairness of the Bo Xilai trial in general exceeded my original expectations. This is a gratifying phenomenon. The trial, prosecution, defense, defendants, witnesses, and all participants in the trial all performed well and in line with legal rationality. This shows that China's basic rules for governing the country according to law have been formed. The joint efforts and calls of legal people over the years have had an effect."