Wife Of Former Chinese Leader Charged With Murder

Photo: Gu Kailai and her husband, Bo Xilai.

China Charges Wife of Ousted Party Leader in Briton’s Death -- New York Times

BEIJING — Gu Kailai, the wife of the disgraced political leader Bo Xilai, has been charged with the intentional homicide of a British businessman, a crime that triggered China’s most serious political crisis in decades, the state media reported Thursday evening.

The official Xinhua news agency published a brief dispatch announcing that Ms. Gu and an aide employed by the family had been formally charged in the poisoning death of Neil Heywood, the 41-year-old Briton whose body was found in November in a hotel in Chongqing, the municipality in southwest China led by Mr. Bo until he was deposed by Communist Party leaders.

Read more ....

My Comment: Even the Chinese media (and their media minders) are realizing that this is a big story .... permitting Xinhuanet to report on this story. As to what is my take .... this is a huge story in China. It touches all their senior leaders, and puts into question their legitimacy to rule the country .... a legitimacy that they never want questioned. My prediction .... the Chinese leadership want to project an image to their population that no one .... including the leadership .... are above the law. This case is going to be prosecuted, and it looks like Bo Xilai's wife is going to serve some serious time.

Update: The Chinese Tighten the Noose Around Bo Xilai and His Wife -- Bloomberg Businessweek