It's day two of the corruption trial of Bo Xilai, and a central witness has testified against the disgraced Chinese politician: his wife, Gu Kailai, herself convicted of murder in the death of Brit Neil Heywood. In a video, Gu said her husband was fully aware of bribes a Chinese billionaire paid to the family, USA Today reports. "Xu Ming is our old and longtime friend," she said of the businessman. Bo "should know about it all." But Bo rejected his wife's allegations against him. "She's insane, often tells lies," he said, per Reuters. (He gave this supporting example: He claims she told him that when she killed Heywood she felt like the heroic assassin who attempted to murder the first emperor of the country.)
"Her testimony, as far as I am concerned, was (given) under psychological pressure, and driven by (hope of) a reduced sentence." He said her allegations were "very comical, really laughable," the Washington Post notes, calling his defense "surprisingly combative." But experts hold that the trial was probably scripted; Bo likely agreed upon his sentence with authorities beforehand, they say. His apparent toughness may have been permitted in order to give the appearance of a fair trial and satisfy his supporters, Reuters adds. China's public is following the trial via an official microblog, which offers a rare window into proceedings, USA Today notes. The Wall Street Journal has video of Gu's testimony. (More Bo Xilai stories.)
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