Bo Xilai Scandal

BEIJING -- Corruption in a democracy doesn't mean the political system is not democratic. In contrast, China prides itself on being a political meritocracy that selects and promotes leaders with superior ability and virtue. The value of meritocracy is central to Chinese political culture. The higher the level of political corruption, the less meritocratic the political system. Hence, the regime will lack legitimacy if its leaders are seen to be corrupt.
The genuine logic and true goal in the drive to maintain social stability is, therefore, to keep citizens from speaking or acting recklessly. According to this logic, to achieve this goal the current leaders may employ all kinds of resources, and even violate the constitution and other laws and regulations. This is ridiculous and conflicts with the principle of rule of law.
China has a tendency to make prognosticators look foolish. Still, I'll happily make one prediction for 2014: at least one China story will break that has a fact-is-stranger-than-fiction feel to it.
Bo's trial is a political event; his crimes are the same as those committed by almost all Chinese politicians, and were selected for the sake of convenience. As such, the trial tells us next to nothing about rule of law in China.
When it is impossible to trust the verdict of a legal system that is in thrall to its politics, we must seek other ways of interpreting its verdicts. We must see its verdicts as a sign of the times.When major changes in governance occur, a powerful woman usually gets offered up as a sacrifice.
In this interview, He Weifang, one of China's most preeminent advocates of the rule of law, ponders the paradoxes of a top Communist Party leader who abused the legal system when running Chongqing, but at his own trial, persuasively argued for "impartiality" from the courts.
Fallen Chinese politician Bo Xilai began his defense Thursday, saying he was framed in one of the bribery charges against him.