Articles in China’s state-run media indicate that former Chongqing Party chief Bo Xilai may face tougher punishment than merely being removed from his Party posts, according to commentators. In a sign of the gravity with which Beijing is taking the Bo Xilai case, efforts have been made to explain it to the Party membership and the public.
China’s state mouthpiece media Xinhua announced on April 10 at 11pm that former Party heavy weight Bo Xilai has been removed from his positions in the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee (CCPCC) and the Politburo. A minute later, via the same media came the announcement that Bo’s wife Gu Kailai has been handed over to law enforcement agencies in connection to the suspicious death of Neil Heywood, a 41-year-old British businessman.
The same news also broke out all over Weibo, the major micro-blog service in mainland China, but it was quickly censored.
According to Hong Kong’s Ming Pao newspaper, on April 11 the CCP issued documents to county level or higher Party officials, passing on information related to Bo and his wife for so-called “study sessions” to explain why Bo was being purged from the Party.
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However, Ming Pao reported that the documents were immediately recalled, for reasons that are unclear. Ming Pao also reported that the editorial boards of major Beijing newspapers were called into meetings to discuss coverage of the Bo issue.
Commentators say that this type of treatment of a high-level Party official has not been seen since the Cultural Revolution more than 30 years ago.
Skeptical Reactions
After the Xinhua report, many skeptical responses appeared online about the Bo scandal and what is really driving the current turbulence in the upper echelons of the Party.
Liu Gang, a former leader of the 1989 Tiananmen student movement, wrote on the Chinese Jasmine Movement Blog website that according to the CCP’s usual methods, anything related to a Politburo member is covered up, and any public criticism happens only when a high ranking figure has lost all political influence.
Liu questioned how the investigation into the suspected murder of Heywood was being carried out. He pointed out that, until the case is finalized, no one should be allowed to publicly reveal case information. Liu asked, why did the CCP rush to publicize the alleged crime of Bo’s wife?
Epoch Times columnist Wang Hua said: “The report by Xinhua is misleading public opinion. When Xi Jinping visited the U.S. on Feb. 15, U.S. officials already told media that Wang Lijun exposed Bo Xilai’s biggest crime, which was the planned conspiracy with Zhou Yongkang to stop Xi Jinping from taking office.”
Another Epoch Times commentator, Zhang Tianliang, believes: “If anyone reveals information on Bo Xilai’s corruption, prostitution or even help covering up his wife’s alleged crime, all these are aimed at diluting the real significance of the Bo Xilai case.”
Next...Bigger Political Storm
Bigger Political Storm
In the Xinhua article about Bo’s 53-year-old wife being arrested by police, Gu was referred to as “Bo-Gu Kailai,” a name that she has never used.
Peking University Law School professor He Weifang wrote on his micro-blog: “[This is] hard to explain, her last name is Gu, why is her husband’s last name in front? Did she immigrate to the West, or are (the authorities) trying to associate her with her husband? This drama is not over yet, [it’s] getting more and more stirring.”
Social commentator Wen Zhao told The Epoch Times: “The two sets of news came together, saying that Bo Xilai been investigated by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and his wife Gu Kailai is being suspected of murder, handed over to law enforcement, which basically means she is arrested. Putting these two pieces of news together, the indication is clear, that is, what Bo Xilai faces is not simply the end of his political career; he is facing much more serious punishment.”
On the same day that Xinhua news agency announced the decision against the 62-year-old Bo, People’s Daily published an editorial article that set a political tone. The editorial refers to the “Wang Lijun incident”—the attempt by the former Chongqing police chief to seek asylum at the U.S. Consulate on Feb. 6. Wang’s flight set in motion the events that led to the announcements involving Bo and Gu on April 10.
The editorial said: “From the current evidence, it looks like the Wang Lijun incident is a major political incident with serious adverse impacts both abroad and at home. The death of Neil Heywood is a serious criminal case involving Party and State leaders and their close relatives and staff. Bo Xilai has seriously violated the Party’s discipline and brought damage to the Party and the country, and seriously damaged the image of the Party and the country.”
Shi Zangshan, a China expert based in Washington D.C., told The Epoch Times that the People’s Daily editorial “not only revealed that Bo might have violated the criminal law, but also he needs to be responsible for the Wang Lijun ’serious political incident.'”
Shi said that the CCP did not announce what kind of political problems the former Chongqing Party Secretary might have. In Shi’s view, the editorial from People’s Daily indicates that Bo could be charged with conspiracy or treason.
Shi held that “this is a prelude to a bigger political storm.”
Beijing Tightens Control
Meanwhile, all major universities in China held Party emergency meetings at about 10 pm Beijing time on April 10, just an hour before the publication of the Xinhua reports on Bo and his wife. Sources say the meetings were held to inform students and the university staff as per the same lines put forward by the Xinhua and People’s Daily reports.
At the same time, news on Weibo stated that there was heavy police traffic control in and around Beijing.
Click this tag or www.ept.ms/ccp-crisis to read about the most recent developments in the ongoing power struggle within the Chinese communist regime. Intra-CCP politics are a challenge to make sense of, even for veteran China watchers. Here we attempt to provide readers with the necessary context to understand the situation. Get the RSS feed. Get the Timeline of Events. Who are the Major Players?
