THE TRIAL IN CHINA - MORE OF THEATER BUT SETTING AN EXAMPLE
By Ruma Dubey
While we Indians are reeling under fighting politicians sullying the very edifice of the Parliament, falling economic growth and falling rupee, rampant increase in rape of women and murder of free thought, free speech and rationalists, China is setting an example.
For a country which does not believe in transparency, surprisingly, the entire trail of Bo Xilai is being microblogged – there is real time narration of the happening in the trial court on the social media. The court is disseminating detailed accounts of the lively exchanges between the judge, the prosecutor, the defence lawyer, witnesses and Mr Bo himself. Through this rare display of openness, China wants to send a message across to the people and the world – it is offering a fair and just trial to the shamed Bo. But the underlying message is how the Govt will get rid of a popular but corrupt politician and how no one is above the law.
The way China handles this trail of Bo will mark the very future of the country. Bo Xilai is charged with corruption, bribery - Bo took bribes of about 21.8 million yuan ($3.6 million) from some businessmen; abuse of power and preventing investigation of his wife, Gu Kilai along with an aide Zhang Xiaojun who were charged with murder of British businessman - Neil Heywood. Last August Bo’s wife and her aide went on trial and Gu Kailai was given a suspended death sentence for murder and her aide was given a nine-year prison sentence. What we witnessing now is the trail of Bo.
Bo Xilai was the former Communist Party chief in Chongqing. He was one of the brightest stars in Chinese politics and was tipped for top office. As soon as his involvement was established, Bo was immediately expelled from the Communist Party and then the Parliament. Yesterday was the first day of the trial and he has very animatedly denied the bribery charges. Today is the second day of the trial. But everyone knows that the verdict has already been decided – with so much evidence stacked up against him, everyone expects Bo to be found guilty. His wife too has testified against him. The ‘guilty’ everyone knows but what all would to know is the punishment which will be imposed on Bo.
Like India, in China too, corruption is rampant. But many in China say that Bo is just a scapegoat and a ploy of the Govt led by Xi, to get rid of a very popular leader who could have posed serious threat. Yet, the fact remains that irrespective of the political game plan, the Chinese have shown the gumption to not only prosecute but punish even a corrupt politician. The punishment will be harsh enough to dissuade anyone else to either stop being corrupt or at least cover their tracks with more finesse.
We in India, constantly compare ourselves with the growth in China. But why can’t the same yardstick of comparison then be applied for punishing the guilty? We in India have a track record of never prosecuting those in power. Have you ever heard in your life time of any politician ever being punished or imprisoned? Or for that matter, any terrorist, apart from Kasab ever even being found? Ketan Parekh was convicted in 2008; there are Intelligent Reports suggesting that despite being banned for life from trading he continues to do with gumption through his associates. Remember Bernard Madoff who ran a scam of a ponzi scheme in USA? This came to light in 2008 and he was convicted and is currently serving 150 years of imprisonment. Abuse of power is evident in all facets of India – Robert Vadra being the latest and suspension of IAS officer, Durga Shakti. Coalgate, 2G, Commonwealth, the Railway scam, now the Leave Travel Allowance scam in PSUs…the list is endless. The Delhi rape case continues and will go on… “Tarik pe tarik, tarik pe tarik, tarik pe tarik milte par insaaf nahi milta hai sirf TARIK!”
Let one example be made of a severe punishment, be it for rape or corruption or murder; that will be good enough to begin a process of fear and respect for the law in India, which sadly is non-existent today.