Examining Bo Xilai's Fate After The Gu Kailai Trial at China Happy Hour

Aug. 24, 2012 - PRLog -- (August 19, 2012, New York) The official Chinese account of the murder trial of the wife of a disgraced top politician made clear that she will be convicted, but never mentioned her once-powerful husband, suggesting the Communist Party wants to distance him from the crime, report Didi Tang in The Huffington Post.

The extraordinarily long account by the official Xinhua News Agency said Gu Kailai and a household aide "confessed to intentional murder" in their trial Thursday in the death of British businessman Neil Heywood.

Gu's husband, Bo Xilai, was one of China's most powerful and charismatic politicians until he was ousted as Communist Party chief of Chongqing city as the scandal surrounding Heywood's death last November unfolded.

The scandal has badly shaken the country's leadership. Gu's tightly orchestrated trial is a step toward resolving the political turbulence before the country's once-a-decade leadership transition this fall, and officials are likely to want to prevent the case from further sullying the party's reputation.
Bo is in the hands of the party's internal discipline and inspection commission, which is expected to issue a statement about his infractions. That would open the way for a trial with charges possibly including obstructing police work and abuse of power. Thus far, Bo has only been accused of grievous but unspecified rules violations.

In its 3,400-word account of the case issued late Friday, Xinhua said four Chongqing police officers who had close relations with the family tried to cover up the murder. That statement could indirectly implicate Bo, Beijing lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan said.
"The questions are whether he knew about the murder and whether he obstructed the police investigation," Liu said. The four policemen went on trial Friday. No further details have been released.

Another possible charge against Bo is corruption, Liu said, noting that Gu reportedly stated that Heywood had threatened the safety of her son over compensation for a failed land project.

This month, Golden Networking’s China Happy Hour (http://www.ChinaHappyHour.com) will invite a number of journalists who have followed the trial, conviction and suspended death sentence of Gu Kailai, the wife of purged Chinese leader Bo Xilai, in close detail, for the panel “The Gu Kailai Trial” moderated by its founder Edgar Perez. There will be time afterwards for Q&A and the best China networking in New York City.
China Happy Hour will be held Tuesday August 28th, 6PM; these receptions have been known to attract executives and professionals not only from China but also from South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, and India, among other nationalities.

China Happy Hour New York City, featured in The New York Times, is produced by Golden Networking, the premier networking community for business executives, entrepreneurs and investors. Panelists, speakers and sponsors are invited to contact Golden Networking by sending an email to info@goldennetworking.net.