Q&A: Why the Gu Kailai trial is important
August 9, 2012 -- Updated 0652 GMT (1452 HKT)
Will scandal bring change to China?
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Murder trial of Gu Kailai has ramifications far beyond case's verdict
- Trial comes ahead of party congress that will set China's future leadership
- Analyst: No one expects outcome "to be judged just on the merits of the case"
- Ruling class worried case could prompt other corruption investigations
But coming months ahead
of a party congress that will chart China's future leadership, the
ramifications could echo far beyond the verdict of the trial, expected
to begin this week.
"This is definitely more
than a criminal trial," says Wenran Jiang, who went to Peking University
with Gu's husband, Bo Xilai -- the one-time Communist Party chief of
Chongqing and member of the policy-making party politburo which he was
dismissed from in April 2012 following allegations Gu was behind the
murder of British businessman, Neil Heywood.
Politician's wife charged with murder
Trying to gain access to Gu Kailai trial
At the 18th National
Congress of the Communist Party expected this fall, current President Hu
Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao will begin handing over the reins of
power to the next generation of leaders. The criminal trial of Bo's wife
"is probably going to be watched not for the case itself but the fate
of Bo Xilai. Everybody is watching whether Bo Xilai's political life
will end," says Jiang, now a professor of political science at the
University of Alberta.
Who is Gu Kailai?
Politician's wife charged with murder
CNN's Beijing Bureau
Chief, Jaime FlorCruz - who also attended Peking University with Bo -
spoke to Jiang about the case and its wider implications. Responses are
edited for length and clarity.
CNN: You knew Bo Xilai in university. How do you remember him?
He's smart, he's
articulate and he is ambitious. He showed all those traits back then. He
doesn't really think or care about the smaller issues. He wants to do
his own thing. He doesn't really care who says what to him, he just
pushes forward.
Did you know his wife when you were there?
I only met her very
briefly and am not quite familiar with her. She was smart, articulate,
also a graduate from Peking University. Peking University graduates tend
to pride themselves on being social and political elites. Therefore,
I'm not surprised at his wife being more than a housewife. She wanted to
do something, she had her own law practice and she had all these
relationships. She could be a very protective, aggressive and assertive
mother who wanted a bright future for her son.
Do you think the family is getting a fair trial?
It is difficult to say.
In the Chinese legal system, despite its tremendous progress over the
past decades, we know it is still subject to party approval and
management. In this trial, frankly speaking, nobody believes that it's a
totally independent judiciary and it will be judged just on the merits
of the case. It has been managed by the most senior level of leadership
at every step.
While they
accuse Gu Kailai of murder, prosecutors have apparently dropped the
allegation of corruption. If so, what does that mean?
Murder charge for politician's wife
Bo Xilai insider goes public
Number one, it may show
that they have a very strong case on the murder and criminal side, but
the case for corruption might be more difficult to prove. Number two,
when you move into the murky territory of corruption, then it relates
not just to Gu Kailai herself or her husband but it might be involving
the network of the family. And the family network is probably very
strong and related to all the other powerful elite families. Therefore
it became a very difficult situation to manage.
Once you open the
floodgate of investigating one senior official's wife's potential
corruption case, people would probably like to know how the corruption
situation looks like with other high-ranking politburo officials and
their families. So I think that might be a path that they may not want
to travel.
Why is the trial in the eastern city of Hefei, far away from Chongqing where the crime was allegedly committed?
There's different
speculation. One is to remove the case from the location, Chongqing,
where there might have some partiality...that's not uncommon, even in
other countries. Another explanation is maybe the local legal structure
is better controlled by the central party apparatus. Therefore, to
isolate the case in Hefei, that may actually get the expected result.
If Gu Kailai were found guilty, what will that mean?
Death penalty or not, it
will be the end of her story. Number two, most importantly is about her
husband. Her husband's case would be followed after the conviction.
Currently it is not a criminal case for Bo Xilai, so then he might be
disciplined based on his failure to not be able to stop or manage his
wife. Or in some ways implicate him in the case, even if he himself is
not involved in the murder. There could be many, many other factors that
could cause him to be disciplined. One way or the other, the conviction
of Gu Kailai would mean the end of Bo Xilai's political life.
Is Chinese history repeating itself - a wife taking the fall for a powerful husband?
That goes back to
(imperial) court struggles over thousands of years of Chinese history.
(In recent history) we can go back to Madame Mao, Jiang Qing, of the
"The Gang of Four" (who ruled China during the Cultural Revolution and
imprisoned after a 1981 trial). And people say in the current
non-transparent system of China, a powerful wife may take the fall for
her husband.
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