#boxilai

In the infographic below, we have collected data from a number of sources, including GreatFire.org, China Digital Times, Blocked on Weibo, and Twitter users to chart the moments when Bo’s name became blocked or unblocked on Weibo. The speculation is that the authorities blocked his name when online conversations got too unpredictable to control and unblocked it when they sought to give netizens the space to criticize Bo. We have lined up those moments with what was taking place offline at the same time, presenting a connection between how real-life political turmoil was often reflected in changes in censorship online. Click to launch the interactive infographic.

Concept, Research, and Authorship: JASON Q. NG Design: JANE GOWAN and ANDREW HILTS Development: ANDREW HILTS

打黑 + 薄 (smash the black / dǎhēi + the surname for Bo Xilai / bó) is a reference to Bo Xilai's 2009-2011 campaign to rid the city of Chongqing of organized crime. In Chinese, it's known as "重庆打黑除恶专项行动" (literally, Chongqing's fight against illegal activities and elimination of evil forces special operation) and it's also referred to as the Chongqing gang trials in English.

Why it is blocked: Chongqing is a sprawling major city in China's interior, home to nearly 30 million people in an area the size of South Carolina. Before Bo Xilai's arrival in Chongqing as party secretary (the de facto head of the city), organized crime was endemic in the city, with gangs running illegal underground activity and bribing police and government officials at all levels.

When Bo took office, he vowed to tackle organized crime and corruption and gave his police chief, Wang Lijun great latitude in attacking the problem.Thousands were arrested and Bo was celebrated for his seemingly successful triad busting. However, numerous questions have arisen about the way those arrests and convictions were made, with the most notorious being the case of Li Zhuang. Li, a much respected lawyer, defended some of those arrested in the crackdown, earning the wrath of authorities. One of whose clients was forced to falsely testify against him in an obvious frameup, and Li was convicted and imprisoned.

Since then of course, Bo and his police chief have experienced a spectacular fall from grace and the afterglow of busting the triads has been lost amid stories about tortured witnesses and false confessions. It was claimed that Bo and his associates even extorted rivals by threatening to target them next. Bo was recently convicted and sentenced to life in prison for numerous crimes, including those related to his handling of the crackdown in Chongqing, and Wang Lijun was sentenced to 15 years for abuse of power in his role in the campaign.

Breaking News @BreakingNews         20:02 21/09/2013

Chinese court sentences Bo Xilai to life in prison after finding him guilty on all charges - @AFP Retweet ↵ Share on Facebook ↵

The Associated Press @AP         20:01 21/09/2013

BREAKING: Chinese court convicts politician Bo Xilai of corruption, sentences him to life in prison Retweet ↵ Share on Facebook ↵

BBC Breaking News @BBCBreaking         20:01 21/09/2013

Court in China finds politician Bo Xilai guilty of corruption, embezzlement and abuse of power - sentences him to life in prison Retweet ↵ Share on Facebook ↵

BBC News (World) @BBCWorld         15:15 20/09/2013

Analysis: Why Bo Xilai is still admired in Chinese city where he led Communist Party Retweet ↵ Share on Facebook ↵

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Nothing in China receives more attention than the trial of Bo Xilai these days. Soon after Jinan Intermediate People's Court opened its official Sina Weibo account to make public of the case, the number of its followers soared to  540,000 over night. 

People still remember the former Chongqing Mayor for his campaign in "Singing Red-song and Striking Black （a metaphor of gangsterdom in Chinese)", in which he took down a number of officials including Wen Qiang, former Head of Chongqing Justice Bureau, the first departmental level cadres to be executed. As son of Bo yibo, one of eight founding fathers of PRC, Bo Xilai had a prominent career path. He was Mayor of Dalian,  Governor of Liaoning Province, China Commerce Secretary and Mayor of Chongqing in chronicle order. People had rooted for him to became a member in the fifth administration. Now, everyone knows his career has come to an end.

This is the first time ever a legal case is made public in such details. Everyday the official weibo account of JIPC releases records of the trial, even videos, to inform the public of the hearing. On contrary to his previous image as a decisive and eloquent leader, his defense in court is weak and empty. So far he has presented nothing to counter the charges on him, and very often he just excuses himself as forgetful. It is also nasty that he blames almost everything on his wife.

No one is skeptical of his guilt, except some of the sins he committed  might never be proved.  The uncertain part is, however, what the Xi Jinping administration wants to achieve through this "open" trial, what message and to whom, the central authorities want to send.

As some critics point out, having Bo to defend himself in court as a defendant rather than having Discipline Inspection Commission interrogating him and using social media to "live" broadcast the trial do not necessarily mean transparency or improvement in legal practice. It only signifies a change of rules in the game.