Originally posted by the Voice of America.
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                         Bo Xilai Trial Begins in China

   by VOA News

   The long-awaited trial of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai has
   begun amid heavy security in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong.
   State-run media said the proceedings began in the provincial capital,
   Jinan, early Thursday and will last two days. It said a verdict is
   expected in early September.
   Bo Xilai, a former member of the Communist Party's elite Politburo, is
   being tried for alleged corruption, bribery and abuse of power in what
   is the highest-profile Chinese political scandal in decades.
   Analysts say it is virtually certain the 64-year-old Bo will be found
   guilty following the tightly choreagraphed trial. They say the verdict
   likely was decided beforehand by top party members.
   Official government microblogs said five of Bo's family members and 19
   journalists attended the hearing at the Jinan Intermediate Court.
   Foreign journalists were not allowed inside and the trial was not
   televised.
   Outside the court, streets were blocked off with large plastic
   barriers. A small group of Bo's supporters who held a protest nearby
   were quickly hustled away by police.
   His downfall began last February, when his police chief Wang Lijun fled
   to the U.S. consulate in Chengdu, where he told American diplomats
   about Bo's alleged role in covering up the murder of a British
   businessman.
   Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, was later convicted of murdering the Briton in a
   failed financial deal. Wang, meanwhile, was convicted on charges
   including defection, abuse of power and taking bribes.
   Bo, the former party chief of the southwestern city Chongqing, had not
   been seen publicly in 17 months. He was kicked out of the Communist
   Party in September, when state media accused him of corruption, abuse
   of power, bribe taking and "improper" relations with a number of women.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/bo-xilai-trial-begins/1734516.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/bo-xilai-trial-begins/1734516.html