Winning? China Internet Users React to Gu Murder Verdict

Wall Street Journal ^ | August 20, 2012 | Josh Chin, Lilian Lin

[nickcarraway]

Gu Kailai has scored another courtroom victory.

Such was the takeaway for many of China’s Internet users after it was revealed Monday that the wife of fallen Communist Party heavyweight Bo Xilai had been given a suspended death sentence after being found guilty of murdering a British businessman.

“A murder carried out according to a meticulous plan, and in the end it’s a suspended death sentence? How wonderful life is, how handy the law can be, as long as you have the Party to protect you,” popular newspaper columnist and social commentator Yao Bo wrote on Sina Corp.’s Weibo microblogging service.

It was just one of hundreds of posts on the site depicting the verdict as proof that Chinese courts feel sudden bouts of mercy when the most powerful stand trial, while others are much more quick to face the death penalty.

With Ms. Gu dodging the executioner’s bullet, Chinese journalist Luo Changping described what he saw as her likely future: “Suspended death sentence, sentence reduced, sent abroad for medical treatment…” he wrote in a post that appeared under the heading “Winning a Lawsuit in China.”

Ms. Gu, a lawyer, is the author of “Winning a Lawsuit in the U.S.,” a 1998 book that recounted her role in helping several Chinese companies from the northeastern city of Dalian prevail in a U.S. court in 1995. “Courage is more important than wisdom,” she wrote in one passage.

Ms. Gu and a family aide were tried for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood in a one-day trial earlier this month. Ms. Gu confessed to the murder in what legal experts say was likely part of a deal struck with authorities to avoid the death penalty.

In China, a suspended death sentence is typically commuted to life in prison after a handful

[expat1000]

In China, a suspended death sentence is typically commuted to life in prison after a handful of years.

And if it is like many other Asian countries, particularly South Asian, only the perp's name stays in jail, but the person goes on to live in a secluded estate somewhere. After a few months their name will never appear in print again. There won't be any follow up stories on their condition in prison, that is for sure.

[Moltke]

How wonderful life is, how handy the law can be, as long as you have the Party to protect you,” popular newspaper columnist and social commentator Yao Bo wrote on Sina Corp.’s Weibo microblogging service.

Yao just might be dead before Gu.