The openness with which China conducted the trial of Gu Kailai was unprecedented. Even a statement to the press at its close. Unheard of. It is now clear how Neil Heywood was murdered — and it was a brutal death the court said — but questions remain unanswered.
The most crucial is did Heywood really threaten his alleged killer’s son? The court heard of a purported threatening e-mail. Will China’s justice system, famed for its lack of openness, present evidence from Heywood’s computer? Possibly, there was no threat. The presentation to the court of mitigating circumstances may save Ms Gu’s life; more pertinently, they are crucial to saving the Communist Party’s skin.
The murder has presented the party with one of its most complex crises