Back when disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai still ruled Chongqing, he took a special interest in the optics of trials. Before his sudden fall from grace this spring, he was, after all, famous for his dramatic flair—and his most artful turn as politician-cum-showman was the aggressively publicized way in which he cracked down on organized crime, and potential threats to his personal authority. (It was known as the “smashing the black” plank of his “Chongqing model” of governance.)...
Of course, that was then. Now the optics of crime and punishment are well out of Bo’s hands. And for the sake of the Party, if not Bo personally, the legal system's public spotlight is being directed in every direction but at him.
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