Little progress in rule of law since Gang of Four trial
It's the nation's biggest political trial in years. But analysts say the Bo Xilai case shows that little progress has been made over rule of law and judicial independence since another blockbuster political case - that of the Gang of Four in 1980 and 1981.
It's the nation's biggest political trial in years. But analysts say the Bo Xilai case shows that little progress has been made over rule of law and judicial independence since another blockbuster political case - that of the Gang of Four in 1980 and 1981.
They say procedural arrangements show not much has changed in terms of transparency or public access since the Gang of Four were convicted of anti-party activities after being ousted in 1976.
Some people may see the process as relatively open and transparent. But … the trial of the Gang of Four was broadcast live on television, and now we only have the censored text and still images from Bo's trial
A retired journalist, who covered that trial 32 years ago, says a comparison of the two trials suggests the situation has actually regressed. "First, the trial of the Gang of Four was broadcast live but no such arrangement has been made for Bo's case; second, more journalists and more people attended the previous trial than this ongoing one; third, the trial of the Gang of Four was conducted in Beijing while Bo's is in Jinan , hundreds of kilometres away from the political centre; and fourth, the courts then provided more information on the case than the current one," said the journalist.
In the absence of a live broadcast, the Jinan court was "live-blogging" the trial yesterday, providing updates on its Weibo account and through the Weibo and Twitter accounts of Xinhua.
"Some people may see the process as relatively open and transparent," said Dr Fu King-wa, from the University of Hong Kong's Journalism and Media Studies Centre. "But … the trial of the Gang of Four was broadcast live on television, and now we only have the censored text and still images from Bo's trial."
The journalist said some 900 people attended the 1981 trial, including 330 journalists. Xinhua reports that just 19 journalists, as well as five of Bo's relatives and 86 others, are at the current trial.