Six Take-Aways for China From the Bo Xilai Trial

Bo Xilai looks up in a court room at Jinan Intermediate People's Court in Jinan, eastern China's Shandong province, on Aug. 26Photograph by CCTV/AP Video via AP Images

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By Dexter Roberts

August 28, 2013 at 4:11 PM UTC

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With the five-day trial of once high-flying princeling Bo Xilai now over, some take-aways are in order. The trial closed Monday, with prosecutors calling for a severe sentence for the 64-year-old Bo; the lack of contrition shown by the former party chief of Chongqing warranted the tough sentence, they argued. A verdict has not been announced, but it could come in early September, China’s state media has reported. Many believe he will be given a suspended death sentence. Here are six things we learned from the trial.

1) Guess What? The Chinese Communist Party is not immortal.