Gu Kailai's trial targeted her husband

A court in the Chinese city of Hefei on Monday handed down a suspended death sentence to Gu Kailai, the wife of an ousted politician, after she was convicted of murder. In reality the trial targeted Gu's husband Bo Xilai, who had been too blatant in his attempts to gain power, the liberal-conservative daily Die Presse writes: "The son of a companion of Mao Zedong's dared to challenge the Beijing party elite. His populist anti-corruption campaign in the 30-million-strong city of Chongqing - including a revival of the Mao cult - was nothing more than an attempt to seize power. ... Time will tell what will happen with the fallen red angel. The suspended death sentence for his wife and the simultaneous verdict against high-ranking police officers in Chongqing for helping Gu cover up the murder raise the pressure on him. No charges were brought against Bo himself; until now all he has had to answer for are unspecified disciplinary offences. But he knows full well that he could quickly end up in the line of fire should he dare to disturb the upcoming change of the guard in the state and party leadership."

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