Bo Xilai: chief secretary of Chongqing from 2007- 2012. Bo, 63, was the son of a senior Communist Party leader. Before the scandal, he had been widely expected to become a member of Standing Committee of the Politburo after the 18th party congress.
Gu Kailai: Bo Xilai’s second wife. Aged 53, Gu is the youngest of five daughters of the famous revolutionary general. A fluent English speaker, Gu was a successful lawyer, businesswoman, and author. She became famous for publishing a book about her winning a civil suit in America.
Neil Heywood: a Harrow-educated British businessman who had lived in China since the 1990s. Heywood married a local woman, Wang Lulu. He spoke fluent Putonghua and met Bo Xilai in the 1990s. But Heywood came into an “economic conflict” with Gu and subsequently threatened her son, she claimed during her trial.
Zhang Xiaojun: a former civil servant in Chongqing and family aide of the Bo family at the time.
Wanng Lijun: police chief and vice-mayor of Chongqing. Wang Lijun was well-regarded for his crackdown on gang activities.
Guo Weiguo: the deputy police chief of Chongqing. He reported directly to Wang.