In the eastern Chinese city of Hefei, the controversial trial of Gu Kailai concluded in just seven hours. Foreign media was denied access so a brief report by the state newsagency Xinhua was the only account of the proceedings. Gu did not contest the charge of murder brought against her. Last November she visited her victim, British businessman and family friend Neil Heywood, in his hotel room in the central metropolis of Chongqing. Once there she gave him a poisoned drink prepared by her codefendant, family servant Zhang Xiaojun. No evidence against Gu was specified, although Xinhua said there was plenty. The report added that Gu and her son Bo Guagua had become involved in an economic dispute with Heywood and that Gu feared for his safety. Although the verdict on Gu is pending, the significance of her trial and its consequences for China are agreed on. Gu's scandal has ended the career of her husband Bo Xilai, formerly Communist Party Chief of Chongqing and a rising star in Chinese politics. During his term at the helm of the city, Bo gained national fame and popularity for a crackdown on organized crime and policies to reduce poverty. This put him on course for a place in the top tier of China's next government, whose reshuffled members will be announced at the Party Congress later this year. But Bo's ambition, populism and heavy-handed authoritarianism made him enemies; enemies who were glad of the chance to implicate him and remove him from power after the ...