In a courtroom in Hefei yesterday morning, Gu Kailai 谷开来 was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. Like many of today’s newspapers, Six O’Clock This Morning (今晨6点), a commercial paper based in Yantai, Shandong Province, noted the outcome in a front-page headline. The paper also quoted Gu’s assessment of the case: “I feel that the verdict is just, and that it demonstrates the court’s particular respect for the law, for reality, and for life.”
Gu’s appearance at yesterday’s sentencing (shown in the photo), and during the 9 Aug trial, seems far less glamorous than how she looks in older photographs circulating online. Even if rumors of a body double are paranoid conspiracy theories, there’s no question that she’s grown fatter and more fatigued during her detention.
Beneath Gu’s photo, in an interesting layout decision that captured the attention of media-focused microbloggers, the paper ran a teaser for a quirky news story about a mouse that somehow got itself trapped inside a beer can. The headline: Slim down to get out.
Another interesting Gu Kailai-themed front page appeared on the Shenzhen Evening Post (深圳晚报) on 9 August. With an image of a gavel in between head shots of Gu and Heywood, the headline reads: Bo Gu Kailai murder case; Court case opens today in Hefei. The front page of this newspaper has since been deleted from the website of the Shenzhen Evening Post.
Links and Sources
Six 6 O’Clock This Morning: 薄谷开来故意杀人判死缓, 偷油吃的小老鼠改喝酒了
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