Moving to Chongqing to become its Party Chief was clearly a step up the political ladder for Bo Xilai in 2007, but one figures it must have been bittersweet for him to leave Beijing, where -- judging by this video -- he was beloved by a large number of supporters.
The above -- Bo's final speech as the Minister of Commerce -- was posted to YouTube in December 2013, but just recently tweeted out by Helen Gao. Bo would move down south to begin his stint as a member of the Central Politburo, tabbed for sure elevation into the Standing Committee... until, that is, his career and his life veered off track thanks to his wife, Gu Kailai, his former police chief, Wang Lijun, and Neil Heywood, who just had to get himself murdered.
The trial of Bo Xilai lasted three days longer than it was supposed to, but it's all over now except for the sentencing. Until then, here are some links to bring you up to speed.
Bo Xilai says there was love between his wife, Gu Kailai, and Wang Lijun, his former police chief -- the man who would betray him, just as she did, in her own way.
For those who just can’t get enough of the Bo family saga, China Navis has a fairly extensive collection of photos of Bo Guagua — son of Xilai and Gu Kailai — both as a young child in China and growing up overseas.
A lot of these photos you’ve already seen, like the one in which he and his friends pretend to pee on a metal gate, and his graduation photos from Harvard, but others, perhaps not. Take a look at this sampling:
Just when we thought the updates had stopped, the excitement from Bo Xilai's trial fizzled, here's Gu Kailai, wife of Bo Xilai and convicted murderer, sending everyone ABUZZ.
The above video was posted to Sina at 11:55 am and already nearly has 1 million views.
Curiosity and excitement in the Bo Xilai trial has turned into resignation and despair, expressed through humor with an undercurrent of sizzling anger. Good for those of us who aren't wasting a second day in Jinan, Shan-fucking-dong.
So, who indeed was the first to publicize a photo of Bo Xilai after a year and a half?
The Jinan Intermediate People's Court, of course. (Of course.) They even beat Xinhua to it.
But who was the first to put this on TWITTER?
