英國官員獲准旁聽谷開來案庭審

Chinese authorities have agreed to allow two British officials into the courtroom to observe the murder trial of Gu Kailai, wife of the disgraced politician Bo Xilai.

中國當局已經同意讓兩位英國官員旁聽谷開來的庭審過程，谷是已落馬的政界人士薄熙來之妻。

"Two officials are going in a consular capacity" when the trial starts on Thursday, said the British embassy in Beijing.

駐北京的英國大使館表示，本週四開庭的時候，"兩位英國官員將以領事官員的身份出庭旁聽。"

According to Chinese state media, Ms Gu and Zhang Xiaojun, a family aide, have been indicted on charges of murdering Neil Heywood, a British businessman who had acted as an adviser to the family.

中國官方媒體報道，谷開來及薄家勤務人員張曉軍被控殺害英國商人尼爾•海伍德(Neil Heywood)，海伍德曾是薄家的顧問。

Giving foreign diplomats such access is highly unusual, especially for a politically sensitive trial.

讓外國外交官旁聽庭審是很不尋常的，特別是政治敏感的案件。

By announcing the date relatively early by Chinese standards, Beijing indicated it was trying to demonstrate some degree of openness in a case linked to conflict in the inner sanctum of the opaque ruling Communist party.

根據中國標準，這次開庭日期的宣佈相對較早，表明北京正努力在這件案子上展示一定的開放度，本案與中共黨內衝突有關。

But the court in Hefei, in the central province of Anhui where the trial will be held, said all places in the courtroom had already been taken when asked about access for reporters. Such an explanation is commonly used to keep the press and public away from sensitive trials.

然而，將要開庭審理此案的安徽省合肥市中級法院，在被問及記者能否旁聽時表示，法庭所有的座位都已經有安排。在敏感案件的審理中，這是一種把媒體和公衆擋在門外的一個慣用解釋。

Mr Heywood died last November in a hotel room in Chongqing, the southwestern city where Mr Bo was Communist party secretary until he was purged in April.

海伍德去年11月死於重慶一家酒店。薄熙來在4月份被停止職務之前曾擔任重慶市委書記。

Initially, Mr Heywood's family was told he had died of a heart attack, while the British government was offered the explanation that his death followed a drinking binge. Nobody questioned his death at the time.

最初，海伍德的家庭被告知他死於心臟病發作，而英國政府得到的解釋則是他死於酗酒之後。當時沒有人質疑他的死因。

But in April, Chinese authorities said Ms Gu had been detained under suspicion of being involved in the alleged murder of Mr Heywood, while her husband had been suspended from all posts and detained, accused of severe violations of party discipline.

但在今年4月份，中國官方稱，由於在海伍德被殺案中有重大作案嫌疑，谷開來已經被拘留。同時他的丈夫也由於"嚴重違反黨紀"而被停職，接受審查。

Those moves came after Wang Lijun, the former Chongqing police chief under Mr Bo, fled to the US consulate in nearby Chengdu, in February offering to provide details about the alleged murder.

在此之前，曾在薄熙來手下工作的重慶市前公安局長王立軍曾在今年2月進入成都美國領事館，提出願意提供此次謀殺指稱的具體細節。

The drama is unfolding as the ruling party prepares for the once-a-decade leadership succession, which involves intense behind-the-scenes negotiations for posts and factional balancing. Mr Bo had threatened to throw this process into disarray as he made a highly public push for power.

這件事浮出水面之際，中國執政黨正準備進行十年一次的領導層換屆，這個過程涉及大量關於職務人選和派系平衡的幕後協商。薄熙來曾高調公開爭取"入常"，一度對整個換屆過程的平穩進行構成了威脅。

Some party officials believe that a guilty verdict for his wife would be enough to justify Mr Bo's removal from the political stage, while others think the party would prosecute him for corruption after Ms Gu's trial.

一些中共官員認爲，只要薄妻被定罪，就足以把薄熙來趕下政治舞臺，而其他人則認爲，中共將在谷開來案庭審結束後以腐敗罪名對薄熙來提起公訴。

State media said Ms Gu had been charged with poisoning Mr Heywood and that an investigation had said it was because she was worried about a threat from Mr Heywood to her son's personal security following conflict with the British consultant over "economic interests".

官方媒體報道，谷開來被控投毒殺害了海伍德，稱經調查發現，由於與這位英國顧問發生"經濟利益"上的衝突，谷開來擔憂海伍德對她兒子的人身安全構成威脅。

Some legal experts see this as an indication that the court may show leniency towards Ms Gu.

一些法律專家認爲，這表明法庭可能會從寬處理谷開來。