18:17
Tieng Anh Vui
A second day of hearings is under way in the trial of Bo Xilai, the former top Chinese politician charged with bribery, corruption and abuse of power.
On Thursday Mr Bo, the former Chongqing Communist Party chief, denied accepting bribes from businessmen.
He said he was coerced into making a confession and rubbished testimony from witnesses who included his wife.
The indictment links the abuse of power charge to his wife's role in the murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood.
Foreign media are not being allowed into the trial, which is taking place in the city of Jinan in Shandong province.
But the Jinan Intermediate People's Court is posting updates and relevant testimony on its official microblog.
It is not clear, says the BBC's Celia Hatton in Beijing, whether the events on Thursday constituted tightly-scripted political theatre or an unexpectedly colourful legal showdown.
Analysts say the trial is as much about getting rid of a popular politician as it is about criminal wrongdoing. Mr Bo is widely expected to be found guilty.
"It would be inconceivable if the verdict has not already been agreed," said Steve Tsang, professor of Chinese studies at Nottingham University.
"The trial of someone as important as Bo Xilai is not something that could be left to the judges presiding over it. It will have to be agreed by the Politburo Standing Committee after serious discussions."
'Crazy dog'
Thursday was the first time Mr Bo, 64, had been seen in public for almost 18 months. Two years ago he was seen as a candidate for promotion to China's seven-member top decision-making body.
Bo Xilai scandal: Timeline
- 2 February 2012 -Wang Lijun seeks refuge at the US consulate in Chengdu
- 15 March - Bo Xilai is removed from his post as party chief in Chongqing
- 26 March - UK confirms it has asked China to re-examine Neil Heywood's death
- 10 April - Bo Xilai is stripped of his Communist Party posts and his wife Gu Kailai is investigated over Neil Heywood's death
- 20 August - Gu Kailai is given a suspended death sentence for the murder of Neil Heywood
- 28 September - Bo Xilai is expelled from the Communist Party
- 25 July 2013 - Bo Xilai is charged with corruption, bribery and abuse of power
But in February 2012 questions emerged over the death of a British businessman, Neil Heywood. Mr Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, has since been convicted of his murder.
On Thursday the court dealt with bribery charges - totalling 21.8m yuan ($3.56m; £2.28m) - involving two Dalian-based businessmen, Xu Ming and Tang Xiaolin.
Mr Bo - who used to be the mayor of Dalian in the 1990s - went on the offensive, denying accepting any money in the form of bribes.
He said he had admitted taking three bribes from Mr Tang "against his will" under questioning, adding: "What I meant was that I was willing to take the legal responsibility but I had no idea of all these details back then."
Using unexpectedly strong language, he described Tang Xiaolin as a "crazy dog" who was "selling his soul" to reduce his sentence, which brought a rebuke from the judge.
Mr Bo also denied accepting bribes from Xu Ming, the entrepreneur who disappeared around the same time as Mr Bo.
He said that he "knew nothing" about a property owned by his wife near Nice in France or about Xu Ming sponsoring his son Bo Guagua's schooling.
Xu Ming is in custody. Tang Xiaolin's whereabouts are unclear.
Chinese state media has indicated that the trial will last for two days and on Friday the court was expected to address the remaining charges.
According to the indictment, the corruption charges relate to the alleged embezzlement of public money in 2002.
"While serving as governor of Liaoning Province, Bo used his post to conspire with others to embezzle 5m yuan of public funds from the Dalian government," it said.
The abuse of power charge is connected to his wife's role in Mr Heywood's murder and his treatment of Wang Lijun, his now-jailed former police chief whose flight to the US consulate brought the case out into the open, it said.
In February 2012, around the time that China was preparing to promote a new generation of leaders, Wang Lijun fled to the US consulate in Chengdu amid an apparent fall-out with Mr Bo.
Shortly afterwards, Chinese authorities announced that they were reinvestigating the death of Mr Heywood, and both Mr Bo and his wife disappeared from public view.
Gu Kailai has since been jailed for the murder of Mr Heywood - a crime she carried out, state media say, because of differences over a business deal. Wang has also been jailed for his role in covering up events, among other charges.
Mr Bo is the last major player in connection with the case to face trial.
CLICKABLE
Neil Heywood
Bo Xilai
Gu Kailai
Bo Guagua
Wang Lijun
Patrick Devillers
Jiang Feng Dolby
Dalian
Chongqing
French villa
Bo Xilai
Former Communist Party chief of Chongqing and Politburo member
Mr Bo, the son of a famous Communist Party hero, was once a political high-flyer and described as the nearest China had to a Western-style politician. He ran the coastal city of Dalian and was commerce minister before becoming Party chief of south-western metropolis of Chongqing. He was removed from office following Neil Heywood’s death and was charged with bribery, corruption and abuse of power.
Gu Kailai
Lawyer and wife of Bo Xilai
Ms Gu, whose father was a prominent revolutionary general, is a well-known lawyer and second wife of Bo Xilai.
She studied at Peking University before opening the Kailai law firm in Beijing. Fluent in English, she and her husband were once one of China's most powerful couples. Last year, she was convicted of Mr Heywood's murder, reportedly over a deal gone wrong, and given a suspended death sentence.
Bo Guagua
Son of Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai
Educated at the exclusive British private school Harrow, followed by Oxford and Harvard Universities, Bo Guagua has been described as one of China's "princelings" - the descendants of revolutionary leaders often criticised for their lavish lifestyles. Since his parents’ fall, Bo Guagua has remained in the US, where he is preparing to study law at Colombia University in New York. In a statement issued ahead of Mr Bo’s trial, Bo Guagua said he hoped his father would be allowed to defend himself "without constraints".
Wang Lijun
Former Chongqing police chief
Mr Wang, once a popular police chief and Bo Xilai’s deputy in Chongqing, began his career in law enforcement in the Inner Mongolia region before moving to Chongqing in 2008. He worked closely with Mr Bo but, after an apparent falling out, Mr Wang fled to the US consulate in Chengdu, near Chongqing, where he raised concerns about the circumstances of Neil Heywood’s death. Mr Wang has since been jailed for 15 years, charged with defection, power abuse and bribe-taking.
Patrick Devillers
French architect
Mr Devillers is believed to have met Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai in the 1990s while living in Dalian and reportedly helped design street grids in the port city while Mr Bo was mayor. French documents quoted by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times said he also oversaw the running of a villa in the South of France - allegedly belonging to Mr Bo - between 2001 to 2007. He was detained in Cambodia, where he lives, before voluntarily flying to China in July 2012. Reports say Chinese authorities wanted to talk to him as a witness in the Neil Heywood case.
Jiang Feng Dolby
Television presenter and business woman
Mrs Dolby, born in China but now a British citizen through marriage, is well known in China as a state TV presenter. However, after moving to Britain she ran an educational consulting company, which it is claimed helped get the children of wealthy Chinese couples into leading British and American schools and universities. Mrs Dolby was named in official documents quoted by the Wall Street Journal as the manager of a villa in the south of France that is expected to be one of the key pieces of evidence at Mr Bo's trial.
Dalian
Major seaport in north-eastern China
It was here that Bo Xilai's political career was set on the fast track when he was appointed mayor. Mr Bo was credited with developing Dalian from an unremarkable port city to a showcase for China's economic boom. It was also in Dalian that Mr Bo and Gu Kailai reportedly first met Mr Heywood and Mr Devillers.
Chongqing
Major city in south-western China
Bo Xilai was appointed Communist Party chief of Chongqing in 2007. Wang Lijun, the city’s former police chief, was his deputy. Mr Bo became well-known for a high-profile crackdown on crime and advancing the "Chongqing model" of development, which spent heavily on developing public housing and infrastructure. However, his ambition and flamboyant style earned him enemies and raised eyebrows among party leaders back in Beijing. It was in a hotel room in Chongqing that British businessman Neil Heywood was found dead in November 2011.
French villa
Cannes, France
A six-bedroom villa in the south of France is expected to play a role in the trial of Bo Xilai. The $3.5m (£2.2m) property in Cannes was allegedly given to Mr Bo as a bribe. It it claimed to have been bought by Xu Ming, a billionaire backer of Mr Bo in Dalian. French documents quoted by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times state people close to the Bo family have been involved with the villa since 2001. French architect Patrick Devillers, British businessman Neil Heywood and Feng Jiang Dolby, a former presenter on China's state TV, have all overseen the running of the property, the papers said.
Neil Heywood
British businessman
Having enjoyed a privileged education at Harrow school, Mr Heywood moved to China in the early 1990s where he learned Mandarin, married his Chinese wife Wang Lulu and started a business career. The father-of-two worked as a consultant to foreign businesses seeking investment in China. It was while living in the north-eastern port city of Dalian in the mid-1990s that Mr Heywood met Bo Xilai - then the city’s mayor - and his wife Gu Kailai. More than a decade later, Mr Heywood was found dead in a hotel room in the south-western city Chongqing - where Mr Bo had since become Communist Party chief. In 2012, Gu Kailai and an aide were convicted of poisoning him because of "economic conflict".
Đăng ký: Tieng Anh Vui
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