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FORMER Chongqing Communist Party chief Bo Xilai's trial for bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power has come to an end. The court will give its verdict later.The trial was relatively transparent, with transcripts being carried live on the court's microblog, so that the public was kept closely informed of the latest development of the case. This kind of arrangement should be applauded. While the trial still left much to be desired, it might be regarded as an experiment to reform the judicial system.The bribery and embezzlement charges against Bo referred only to the period when he served consecutively as mayor of Dalian, governor of Liaoning, and Minister of Commerce, while the abuse of power charge referred to his actions taken to prevent the police from looking into Gu Kailai's murder case and his release of the false news that Wang Lijun was receiving "vacation-style therapy"after Wang defected. The scope of the three charges was very much limited.Bo's five-year rule over Chongqing was so controversial that it is inconceivable that nothing he did during that period could be found culpable. Many believe that the authorities wanted to erase Bo's association with Chongqing to avoid controversies,which might disrupt the stability of Chongqing and China's political arena. While Bo's case was fraught with political implications, every effort was made to separate the case from politics, so much so that the defence was able to assert that, after 2005, Bo was no longer involved in corruption. Bo was also able to laugh off the testimony that he had taken bribes by saying that "even the poorest television scriptwriter would not have written such a story". For the prosecution had bound its own hands.The way Bo's trial was conducted proved a welcome departure from the established practice,but Bo's repudiation of his pre-trial testimony highlighted the contradiction between the Chinese Communist Party's disciplinary power and the law of the country. Bo frankly admitted yesterday (August 26) that he had, while under investigation by the CCP's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection,"confessed his guilt" in order to "get the understanding of the party", "hoping to keep his party membership and his political life". In other words, he made his confessions to the Central Commission in a bid to have his case settled in an out-of-court arrangement according to party discipline. When his hopes were dashed, he bitterly retracted his confessions in court.The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection is an organ of the ruling party, whereas the procuratorial department is the country's law-enforcement organ. Is the party above the law,or vice versa? This is a question which, almost 30years ago, Chairman of the National People's Congress Peng Zhen was unable to answer clearly.Bo's trial showed that, while steadfastly upholding its leadership, the CCP is working to advance the rule of law by strengthening the hand of the procuratorial department.The live-microblogged trial was remarkable for its transparency. However, foreign news agencies quoted those inside the courtroom as saying that the trial transcripts released were censored. For instance, there was no mention of Bo's statement that, while being investigated by the Central Commission, he was under such pressure that he fainted. Furthermore, what Bo said yesterday about the forged medical certificate for Wang Lijun was once removed, but later re-inserted. This removal and re-insertion was really ill-advised as it threw doubt on the credibility of the transcripts.明報社評2013.08.27「薄案」罕見高透明度司法新標竿值得憧憬前任重慶市委書記薄熙來被控受賄、貪污、濫用職權3 項罪名，儲存倉法庭審理完畢，押後宣判。此案以較高透明度方式審理，包括有文字微博直播，使公�在短時間就知道審訊情�，這一做法值得肯定。我們認為今次審理薄案雖仍存在不少問題，然而，今次審理薄案仍可視為一次改革司法制度的實驗。薄熙來涉及的受賄和貪污罪，都是他任大連市長、遼寧省長和商務部長期間的事；濫用職權罪則指他阻止調查谷開來殺人和在王立軍叛逃後，發布偽稱王「休假式治療」的消息。3 項罪名涉及範圍有限。薄熙來掌政重慶5 年，爭議那麼多，卻全無丁點可以挑剔，有點不可思議；對此，不少人認為把薄熙來與重慶切割，主要不想引發爭議，以免搖撼重慶和時局。此案政治意涵濃烈，但是案件刻意與政治切割，連辯護人也以薄熙來2005 年之後不再貪腐作為辯護論點；對於受賄罪的證辭，薄熙來譏為「即使水準最低的電視編劇也不會作這樣的情節」，實際上是控方畫地為牢的結果。「薄案」的審訊形式雖然使人耳目一新，但是薄熙來的翻供，暴露了黨紀與國法之間的矛盾。薄熙來昨日坦承在中紀委調查階段認罪，是為「取得組織（中共）的諒解」，當時「心中燃起有一個希望，希望保留黨籍，保留其政治生命」。薄熙來表白向中紀委坦承認罪，爭取中共以黨紀作內部處理，希望落空之後，憤而在庭上翻供。中紀委體現黨的領導，檢察機關是執法部門，然則黨大抑或法大，這是近30 年前時任全國人大委員長的彭真也搞不清楚的問題。由「薄案」的審理，反映堅持由黨的領導之餘，如何強化檢察機關的執法職能，看來是法治發展的下一個議題。「薄案」以文字微博直播審訊過程，透明度甚高，不過，據外國傳媒引述旁聽人士報道，文字微博有刪節，例如薄熙來表示中紀委審查時承受壓力，他曾經暈倒，文字微博並未提及。另外，關於涉及王立軍健康的虛假診斷證明，昨日薄熙來說法一度被移除，其後重新上載。移除再上載的舉措，使得文字微博的可信性蒙上污點，做法愚不可及。Glossaryembezzlement /�m'bezlm ?nt/the illegal use of money that you are responsible for or that belongs to your employerfraught /fr �:t/ with filled with something unpleasantrepudiation /r �?pju:di'e ��n/the act of rejecting the authority or validity of somethingcensor /'sens ?/remove the parts of a book, film/movie, etc that areconsidered to be offensive, immoral or a political threat