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| China charges former police chief with defection and power abuse | China charges former police chief with defection and power abuse |
| (7 months later) | |
| China says the former police chief at the heart of the country's biggest political scandal in years has been charged with defection, power abuse and bribe-taking. | China says the former police chief at the heart of the country's biggest political scandal in years has been charged with defection, power abuse and bribe-taking. |
| The official Xinhua news agency gave no immediate details about the charges against Wang Lijun, but the announcement indicates a trial will come soon, moving the scandal closer to a resolution before a key transition to a new generation of national leaders this autumn. | The official Xinhua news agency gave no immediate details about the charges against Wang Lijun, but the announcement indicates a trial will come soon, moving the scandal closer to a resolution before a key transition to a new generation of national leaders this autumn. |
| Wang, who had also been a vice-mayor in the south-western city of Chongqing, set off the scandal by fleeing to the US consulate in the nearby city of Chengdu. That led to the dismissal of the city's powerful communist party boss Bo Xilai and the conviction of Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. | Wang, who had also been a vice-mayor in the south-western city of Chongqing, set off the scandal by fleeing to the US consulate in the nearby city of Chengdu. That led to the dismissal of the city's powerful communist party boss Bo Xilai and the conviction of Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, for the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. |
| The announcement of the charges against Wang comes at the end of a brief visit to Beijing by the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and will likely be seen by some as timed to send a message to Washington that China would strongly object to any foreign involvement in its internal politics. | The announcement of the charges against Wang comes at the end of a brief visit to Beijing by the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, and will likely be seen by some as timed to send a message to Washington that China would strongly object to any foreign involvement in its internal politics. |
| During his overnight stay at the US consulate, Wang expressed to the Americans his concerns about the death of Heywood in Chongqing last November. That led to the British embassy requesting an investigation, which uncovered that he had been murdered. The case prompted Bo's dismissal in March and the conviction last month of Gu for poisoning Heywood, a former family associate with whom she had reportedly feuded about money. | During his overnight stay at the US consulate, Wang expressed to the Americans his concerns about the death of Heywood in Chongqing last November. That led to the British embassy requesting an investigation, which uncovered that he had been murdered. The case prompted Bo's dismissal in March and the conviction last month of Gu for poisoning Heywood, a former family associate with whom she had reportedly feuded about money. |
| Gu was given a suspended death sentence while Bo remains under investigation by the ruling party's disciplinary branch for unspecified violations of discipline. | Gu was given a suspended death sentence while Bo remains under investigation by the ruling party's disciplinary branch for unspecified violations of discipline. |
| Bo had been one of China's most prominent politicians and his downfall threatened to upset the succession process. | Bo had been one of China's most prominent politicians and his downfall threatened to upset the succession process. |
| Wang had been Bo's right-hand man in Chongqing, spearheading a controversial crackdown on organised crime that critics say involved torture and other violations of procedure, as well as illegal confiscation of assets and the targeting of political opponents. | Wang had been Bo's right-hand man in Chongqing, spearheading a controversial crackdown on organised crime that critics say involved torture and other violations of procedure, as well as illegal confiscation of assets and the targeting of political opponents. |
| The two fell out after Wang brought up Heywood's murder with Bo, who was not called as a witness or otherwise implicated in Gu's murder trial. | The two fell out after Wang brought up Heywood's murder with Bo, who was not called as a witness or otherwise implicated in Gu's murder trial. |
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