Who knew that a disgraced politician whose wife murdered a businessman could still be the most beloved official in China? Last night, Bo’s trial opened in what is billed as China’s most public official scandal of the decade.

A photo of Bo Xilai's trial, live-Tweeted (or Weibo'd) by Jinan Intermediate People's Court .

Via e.weibo.com

Bo Xilai's story has all the elements of a mystery/thriller movie: once one of the most beloved mavericks of the Communist Party, he is now accused of corruption, bribery, and covering up his wife's murder of a British businessman. While he was the mayor of Chongqing City, his police chief sought U.S. asylum because he felt Bo was threatening his life for investigating his wife's crimes. Bo was stripped of his Party membership, then detained.

Yet it turns out he may still be one of the most popular politicians in China.

The opening of the trial on Wednesday marked the first time the public has seen Bo in 18 months in what is being billed as the scandal of the decade — and the court chose an unusually public medium to broadcast the trial: Weibo, China's version of Twitter. Otherwise, only 19 journalists from state-owned media were allowed in the courtroom to cover the event.