The results of Bo Xilai’s trial have made major headlines throughout the world – the one powerful Communist Party insider has been found guilty with a life sentence after what is being renowned as China’s most politically intense court hearing in over three decades.
Communist Party insiders are calling the sentence “harsh” and are claiming that it is an attempt by China’s current leaders to end a series of scandals that seems to surround Bo Xilai, reports the Wall Street Journal. In 2011, Xilai’s wife was convicted of murder; Xilai himself was convicted of bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of power.
Concurrently, the NPR coverage of this story provides a broader scope of the entire affair while Chinese media coverage captivated audiences with tales of lust, intrigue, murder and greed. NPR notes that the Chinese government could be facing issues in laying the scandalous affair to rest if Xilai appeals the verdict. Hopefully, this is the catalyst that could potentially start a series in which Chinese officials condemn the corrupt nature that has been plaguing their political and economic systems for decades.