The most significant trial in China in decades opened yesterday with an unusual display of defiance from Bo Xilai, the powerful former politburo member whose purge and arrest last year shook the foundations of the country’s ruling Communist Party.
On the opening day of his trial in the eastern city of Jinan, Mr Bo vehemently rejected allegations that he and his family took more than Rmb21m ($3.4m) in bribes from two prominent businessmen in exchange for political and business favours.
In testimony that was published online from the court through Weibo, the popular Chinese equivalent of Twitter, Mr Bo recanted sworn confessions he gave to Communist party investigators last year, in which he admitted accepting the bribes.