The trial, conviction and suspended death sentence of Gu Kailai, the wife of purged Chinese leader Bo Xilai, has called into question not only China's legal system but also the very unity of the Communist Party leadership.
Let us begin with the many questions raised at the trial. For starters, Gu claimed that she killed the British businessman Neil Heywood only to protect her son. But given Gu's power as Bo's wife, she could have had someone like Heywood jailed or expelled from China at the snap of her fingers. No need for cyanide.
Still, she not only admitted her guilt, but seemed to embrace it as a sort of historical necessity. "In order to uphold the sanctity of the law," she told the court, "I am willing to accept and calmly face whatever judgment I am given, and I also expect a fair and just judgment."