China’s Kinder, Gentler Show Trial

Rigged Or Not, the Riveting Proceedings Against Communist Official Bo Xilai Have Meant Progress

The century is still young, but China has already witnessed its “trial of the century.” Bo Xilai, the charismatic ex-party secretary of sprawling mega-city Chongqing and one-time favorite to join the Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee, was tried for corruption and abuse of power last month. The country was riveted by the five-day trial, a salacious melodrama that had all the trappings of a film script: bribes, a love triangle, private jets to ritzy vacation villas halfway around the world, and the murder of a British businessman who may or …