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NPR: Murder Trial of Chinese Politician's Wife Set to Start

August 8, 2012

Excerpted from Frank Langfitt's report on NPR's All Things Considered, "Murder Trial of Chinese Politician's Wife Set to Start":

The accused is Gu Kailai, the wife of the fallen Communist Party leader Bo Xilai. The government says she poisoned a British businessman and family confidant named Neil Heywood last November. The case involves much more than murder, though — it's complicated by privilege, allegations of public corruption, and palace intrigue.

Gao Wenqian, a former Communist Party historian and now a senior policy adviser with Human Rights in China, sums it up this way: "Obviously this case is completely different than a common criminal homicide case. This is basically a political case."