2012-08-09
Disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai's wife's murder trial ends.
CCTV video shows Gu Kailai (C) during her murder trial in Hefei on Aug. 9, 2012.
Gu, who is charged alongside her former employee Zhang Xiaojun with the "intentional homicide" of Neil Heywood last November, raised no objection in court to the charges, according to an official from the Hefei Municipal Intermediate People's Court in the provincial capital.
"The trial finished this afternoon and the court adjourned," official Tang Yigan told reporters after the proceedings ended.
"The accused (Gu) Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun did not raise objections to the facts and the charges of intentional homicide," Tang said, adding that Gu had been "in good shape and mentally stable" during the seven-hour hearing.
The case forms part of the biggest political scandal to rock the ruling Chinese Communist Party leadership since the ouster of former premier Zhao Ziyang in the wake of the military crackdown on the 1989 pro-democracy movement.
Bo, Chongqing's Communist Party chief, was one of China’s most powerful and charismatic politicians until he was sacked in March. He is currently under investigation for unspecified "disciplinary violations."
Tang said the court would "seriously and thoroughly" consider the evidence and the arguments of both sides, and announce a verdict later.
Official account
According to an official account of the trial reported by Reuters, Gu and Zhang invited Heywood to Chongqing, and joined him at Room 1605 at Building No. 16 of the Nanshan Lijing Holiday Hotel where he was staying, drinking tea and alcoholic drinks with him.
"After Heywood became intoxicated, vomited and asked for a drink of water, she poured a poison into his mouth that had been prepared beforehand and that she had given to Zhang Xiaojun to bring along, causing Heywood's death," the statement said.
"The Hefei People's Procuratorate believes that the accused [Gu] Kailai and Zhang Xiaojun used brutal means to commit murder, and the facts of the crime are clear and backed by ample evidence."
The statement named Gu as the principal offender, and Zhang as the accessory to the murder, which it said took place on Nov. 13, 2011.
It said the court had heard and viewed the evidence for the prosecution, as well as statements from the prosecution and the defense lawyer. A legal representative of Heywood's family also spoke during the trial.
More than 140 people, including friends and relatives on both sides, British consulate officials, journalists, representatives from the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Consultative Conference, and "citizens" attended the trial, it said.
But it made no mention of a statement reportedly submitted by Gu's U.S.-based son, Bo Guagua in defense of his mother, which could serve to mitigate the sentence handed down by the court.
Under Chinese criminal law, both Gu and Zhang could face the death penalty, but analysts say Gu is unlikely to face execution.
Threat to son
The official news agency Xinhua has already reported that Gu and Zhang poisoned Heywood as a matter of fact, citing her fears for alleged threats Heywood made to Bo Guagua as a motive.
"The facts of the two defendants' crime are clear, and the evidence is irrefutable and substantial," it said when announcing the charges two weeks ago.
A number of human rights activists and reporters from overseas media outlets gathered outside the court in Hefei in heavy rain, amid tight security. Some Gu supporters were taken away from the scene by police, Reuters reported.
Heywood, 41, was discovered dead in a Chongqing hotel, and was quickly cremated after his death was blamed on a drinking binge.
Gu's trial, which was attended by two officials from the British Embassy in Beijing, could now pave the way for an official announcement regarding her husband, Bo Xilai, according to political analysts.
No details have yet been made public by China about the ongoing investigation into "serious violations" of Party discipline alleged against Bo and his former police chief Wang Lijun, whose Feb. 6 visit to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu triggered the scandal, and is believed to have made public Wang's suspicions over Heywood's murder.
"If they can prove Gu's case, it means it will be all of a piece with Bo Xilai's case," said Hu Ping, editor of the U.S.-based online magazine, Beijing Spring. "It will mean that those [within the Party] who have sympathy for him will have no come-back."
Hu said the timing of the trial suggested that the authorities were keen to wrap up the Bo scandal ahead of a crucial leadership transition at the 18th Party Congress later this year.
"What China's top leaders fear most is losing control of the situation at the Party Congress," Hu said. "If they lose control of the situation, they will be finished."
"That's why they write the script for every Party Congress before it happens, and everyone rehearses the script, so everyone knows what role they must play."
"Of course there's always the possibility that people will refuse to follow the script ... which is why this is a real headache for them," Hu said. "But if they can prove the murder charges, then Bo Xilai should get punished ... for using his political power to interfere with the investigation."
Support base
According to a recent article in the Apple Daily by Hong Kong-based current affairs commentator Willy Wo-lap Lam, Bo's fall is likely to have harmed the political standing of outgoing president Hu Jintao and his support base among the Communist Party Youth League.
China's microblogging services were relatively quiet on the topic of Gu's trial, with keyword searches for "Gu Kailai" and "Hefei People's Court" on Sina Weibo returning the message "In accordance with relevant laws and policies, the search results ... are unavailable."
Netizens appeared somewhat distracted, however, by the posting of explicit sex photos apparently involving a county Party secretary from Anhui and other local leaders.
"[Gu] Kailai in Hefei was unable to set the microblogs on fire, but Lujiang [county] hasn't let the people down," wrote user @kanyihuixiaoyihuilundunxingdong.
Reported by Xin Yu for RFA's Mandarin service, and by Ho Shan for the Cantonese service. Translated, with additional reporting, by Luisetta Mudie.
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