Life sentence for Chinese politician sends tough message

• Bo%27s wife%27s murder of a British businessman sparked his downfall
• He adamantly denied wrongdoing at trial
• Bo was found guilty of bribery%2C embezzlement and abuse of power

BEIJING — Popular but controversial Chinese politician Bo Xilai was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power, a Chinese court ruled Sunday.

A guilty verdict was widely expected, as the ruling Communist Party controls the courts and defendants are almost always convicted. Bo's case was highly sensitive and political, involving a very senior party member disgraced by his wife's murder scandal and his police chief's attempted defection to the USA.

The maximum punishment for his crimes was the death penalty, but 15 to 20 years would have been in line with sentences issued recently to two high-level politicians.

Bo has the right to appeal within 10 days. The South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based newspaper, said Sunday that Bo is likely to appeal.

Earlier, the paper reported a letter from Bo to family members, some of whom attended the trial, in which he maintained his name would one day be cleared, just as his father Bo Yibo, a revolutionary hero, was vindicated after being jailed.

The sentence, read out Sunday by a judge in Jinan Intermediate People's Court, in eastern China's Shandong province, delivered life imprisonment for the bribery charges, 15 years for embezzlement and seven years for abuse of power. The sentences will run concurrently.

While the guilty verdict was never in doubt, the sentence "was longer than everybody expected, it's a bit of a surprise," said Donald Clarke, a Chinese law expert at George Washington University.

China's Criminal Procedure Law provides for sentence reduction, so "it's possible if there was a consensus among the leadership to release him earlier, they could find a reason," he said.

The tough sentence reflects that Bo "never accepted his guilt and seemed to have broken a deal during the case when he defended himself so strongly, so they wanted to throw the book at him," said David Zweig, a Chinese politics scholar at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

In state media, authorities have used Bo's trial to demonstrate China's commitment to the rule of law and greater transparency. Last week, the Jinan court quoted a famous line from English law that "not only must justice be done, it must also be seen to be done."

"I don't think the trial itself represented any kind of progress toward rule of law," countered Clarke, noting that Bo was prevented from using his own lawyers and that the sentence was probably decided at a higher level. Rather than just being targeted for corruption, "it seems Bo was arrested as he lost the political battle," said Clarke.

A micro-blog account of trial proceedings provided by the court was unusual, but "it was an edited transcript, parts were left out and it doesn't represent complete openness," he said.

Xi Jinping, who became leader of the Communist Party in 2012 and China's president in March, is using Bo's disgrace to send out several messages, Zweig said.

"It's a strong statement to municipal leaders that even powerful guys can be arrested," he said.

"It's a warning to Politburo leaders that you can't oppose the central leadership and build an independent kingdom. To the wider society, it shows 'this guy didn't steal so much, don't believe all those rumors you hear about wealthy people with so much money,' " said Zweig, who notes that many Chinese doubt Bo's corruption was limited to the $3.3 million he was convicted of taking in bribes during his time in Dalian.

Chinese analysts agreed Bo's once-stellar career is finished. Xi Jinping and fellow leaders "really want to bury Bo politically and make sure that he is never politically active again," said Joseph Fewsmith, a Chinese politics expert at Boston University.

Bo's sentence is longer than the last two convicted Politburo members, Chen Xitong and Cheng Liangyu, and his case came to court more quickly, showing that "he represented a bigger threat," said Fewsmith. "Bo challenged the rules of the game" with his determination to reach the Politburo Standing Committee.

"The idea that he'd go out and really campaign for a spot at the top just defies everything we know about how Chinese politics is conducted," said Fewsmith. "Xi wanted to stop Bo and anybody else from having similar thoughts."

Bo, 64, had refused to plead guilty to the charges and showed little remorse. The Chinese system emphasizes that leniency will be offered to those who confess and cooperate. Bo's defiance meant no leniency was due according to Chinese law, state prosecutors said at his trial last month.

The five-day trial was closely followed in China both for its human drama and the detailed exposure of the elite lifestyle of a Politburo member. The Communist Party, which tightly controls the media in China and censors the Internet, generally succeeds in keeping information about leaders' personal and family lives far from public view.

Bo had a long government and political career, including a stint as Minister of Commerce. A confident and charismatic personality in a political culture better known for bland, obedient politicians, he remains popular in the cities of Dalian, in northeast China, which he helped bring to national prominence, and Chongqing in the southwest, where he served as Communist Party secretary, the most senior position, until his downfall in March 2012.

In Chongqing, Bo built up a widely publicized "model" of development as he pushed the economy, built public housing and cracked down on organized crime. He also harkened back to the days of Chairman Mao by organizing campaigns such as mass singing of "red songs," which earned him ongoing support by some in China who fear the nation has departed too far from Mao's brand of communism.

Bo's prominence led to speculation that he was campaigning for a seat on the Politburo's Standing Committee, the apex of power in China. His career was curtailed after his former police chief in Chongqing, Wang Lijun, tried to defect to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu in February 2012.

According to testimony at the trial, Bo and Wang fell out over Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, and the cover-up of her murder of a British businessman in Chongqing in November 2011. Both Gu and Wang have already been jailed in separate trials where both pleaded guilty. At his trial, Bo claimed Wang was in love with Gu, whom Bo labeled "insane."

Bo's conviction and sentence may influence an important Communist party meeting this November, when Xi is expected to announce economic changes, said Zweig.

"There is some opposition to more liberal policies, so to have busted a 'lefty,' it's good for reform and should help Xi's position," he said.

News of Bo's sentence was among the most popular topics online in China on Sunday, a working day here after a public holiday last week. "Congratulations! This is the victory of the Party and the government," wrote Zhou Bao, who teaches English at a Beijing high school, on his Sina Weibo account, a Twitter-like micro-blog.

Life imprisonment is "too light" for a man whose campaigns and crackdowns caused many homicides and countless unjust cases, wrote Jin Ziyan, an expert on China's I Ching book of divination, in eastern Jiangsu Province. "His crimes are equal to Jiang Qing," Mao's wife and member of the ill-fated Cultural Revolution's "Gang of Four."

"There is no justice if he doesn't get the death penalty," Jin said.

Supporters retained their faith in Bo. "Mayor Bo Xilai, the entire Dalian city's 6.7 million people will pay 10 yuan each [$1.60] to redeem you from punishment and get you out," wrote Ji Zhongbo, from Dalian. "Come and be Dalian mayor again."

Other Internet users sought humor Sunday. The court micro-blog showed Bo, who is tall by Chinese standards, again being over-shadowed by the same two exceptionally tall police officers who stood guard on either side of him throughout the trial, leading to the widespread belief they were picked to ensure Bo looked small.

"Yao Ming, don't commit a crime," implored Feng Dahui, an IT worker in Beijing, of China's giant basketball star. "Otherwise it's hard to find people for the trial," he wrote on Sina Weibo.

Contributing: Sunny Yang