China has set a trial date for Bo Xilai, the former Politburo member who was once a rising star on the left side of Chinese politics, but is now accused of bribery and abuse of power.  Most observers believe the verdict is a done deal.

His trial will be on Thursday, might last a day, and most expect he will be found guilty.

Bo Xilai was once the powerful head of the Chongquing branch of the Chinese Communist Party, but his year-long fall from grace led to the party’s biggest scandal and crisis in the past two decades and exposed divisions among its leaders. 

It began with the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, for which Bo’s wife Gu Kalai was jailed.  Critics say that, too, was a show trial.  Bo was accused of using his position to cover up Gu’s involvement, as well as taking advantage of his office to accept money and property, and embezzling public money.

But it’s also more complicated than that:  Bo was the champion of the Left Wing of China’s power structure, influenced by Maoism and suspicious of the party’s market-driven factions.  He’s also a long-time rival of the man who bested him for China’s top job:  President Xi Jinping who got really, really rich off China’s economic expansion.

Bo’s supporters say they are being arrested, monitors, or otherwise harassed by police in the days leading up to Thursday’s trial.