Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top
Former Chinese political star Bo Xilai (C) is shown on trial in the Intermediate People's Court in Jinan, east China's Shandong province, August 22, 2013/AFP

Focus on China

Bo tells China corruption trial his wife is ‘insane’

In a colourful exchange – which touched on a football club, a hot air balloon and the purchase of a French villa – Bo argued that the tycoon had not made him aware of the transactions.

Bo’s populist politics won supporters across China but alienated top party leaders who saw his brash approach as a return to a bygone era of strongman rule.

Backroom political discussions ahead of the trial have ensured that a guilty verdict from the court is almost certain, with a lengthy prison sentence likely to follow, analysts say.

At least five relatives attended the hearing, including Li Wangzhi, Bo’s son from his first marriage. Li released a statement to The New York Times praising his father’s courage in speaking out, while thanking the authorities for allowing him to do so.

“I thank the party central authorities and the court for giving the defendant greater rights to a defence and freedom than he had expected, allowing my father to speak his true mind,” he said, adding he was “proud” of his father.

“I hope that my father will continue to respect the law, and that the law may also respect the facts, and leave the people an explanation, leave history an explanation, and leave his son an explanation too,” said Li, who is in his mid-30s and has reportedly not seen his father for several years.

Bo Xilai’s own father, revolutionary military leader Bo Yibo, also gained a reputation for defying the authorities, refusing to admit any wrongdoing while he was jailed and abused during the Cultural Revolution.

Police – uniformed and plain-clothed – blocked off roads around the court again on Friday morning, with the only journalists able to gain entry to the proceedings from state-run media.

A convoy thought to be carrying Bo, which included a silver Mercedes prison van, pulled into the main entrance shortly before the trial restarted in the morning.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

About The Author

Pages: 1 2

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News