Why Gu Kailai stood by her man

As expected, a Chinese court on Monday gave Gu Kailai, the wife of disgraced forner Chongqing Communist Party chief Bo Xilai, a suspended death sentence for murdering ex spook "British businessman" Neil Heywood late last year.

The verdict in Hefei, the provincial capital of Anhui province, had some critics saying it was too lenient and others saying it was too heavy. In China, a suspended death sentence can be reduced to a life sentence – meaning lifelong incarceration – with a possible reduction to 20 years in jail if the convict behaves well.

A more intriguing issue revoles around Bo. Witnesses at the court said that throughout the whole trial, his name wasn't mentioned once.

This has prompted "analysts" to accuse the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) of trying to protect its reputation by keeping Bo out of the case. This is probably false. After all, the party's image would be severely damaged if one of its Politburo members was found to be involved in a brutal murder.

However, from another perspective it seems Gu was the one protecting Bo. At the court, she willingly confessed to the poisoning of Heywood and accepted the verdict as "just". As Gu, the chief culprit, accepted all the blame, Bo could hardly be implicated. If she is as cunning as she is reputed to be, there is a chance that Gu calculated that Bo could yet make a political comeback and save her.

Bo is still immune to court proceedings as he remains a party member and deputy of the National People's Congress (NPC) – China's parliament. Before he could stand trial, these privileges must be removed.

Bo is still under investigation by the party's Central Commission of Disciplinary Inspection for alleged violations of party discipline, an accusation that covers all kinds of wrongdoings, including criminal offences. Given his seniority, only the CCP's Central Committee can decide on a deprival of his party membership. The current Central Committee is due to hold its plenary session in late September or October – before the CCP convenes its 18th National Congress. It is widely expected Bo's fate will be decided at this plenary session.

The Standing Committee of the NPC will hold a meeting next week. This will likely give indications of whether Bo's NPC membership will be revoked.

Once Bo's legal immunity is removed, he may still have to face trial in relation to the Heywood murder case, apart from other facing other possible charges such as corruption, abuse of power and dereliction of duty.

Four former senior Chongqing police officers, including a former deputy chief of Chongqing police, were given jail terms early this week for helping Gu cover up the murder. It is unlikely they acted on their own, and must have been given orders by their superiors.

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Eating Out - Eating Out - Episode 86

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