Beijing: Only a few people heard it, but when one of China's most prominent politicians slapped his police chief across the face, it would end up reverberating far and wide. The smack unleashed tales of murder and conspiracy at the highest levels of the Communist Party—and eventually, the politician's own undoing.
A day earlier, the chief had confronted Bo Xilai, the party boss of the megacity of Chongqing, with some unwelcome information: He had evidence Bo's wife had killed a British businessman in China. Bo's stinging rebuke sent the top cop fleeing into the arms of American officials, creating the Communist Party's most embarrassing scandal in decades.
Now the final chapter in the saga is about to unfold: a closely orchestrated trial, opening Thursday, in which the 64-year-old Bo is virtually assured of being convicted of corruption and abuse of power.
Bo's trial will seal the political demise of a charismatic figure who cultivated a following by mobilizing the masses and sending his critics to labor camps. His naked ambition might have led to his fall.
He had been a member of China's 25-member Politburo, and had been considered a contender for one of the seven seats on the party's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee. Today, he is in many senses a nonentity; his own family has not seen him in 18 months.
