A court spokeswoman in Jinan said that the trial will not be televised live, although the authorities will provide a press briefing when the court adjourns.
A Hong Kong-based broadcaster, Phoenix Television, reported on Tuesday that the trial would be televised live to reporters in a hotel in Jinan.
The last television coverage of a major trial in China was when state television broadcast excerpts from the trial of the Gang of Four in 1980. Jiang Qing (江青), the wife of Mao Zedong (毛澤東), was removed from the courtroom several times after shouting down judges and insulting witnesses as she stood trial for crimes committed during the Cultural Revolution.
Bo’s son, Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), has urged the authorities to allow his father to defend himself at his trial. Bo is almost certain to be found guilty, given that China’s prosecutors and courts come under party control and courts have a 98 percent conviction rate.
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