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| Bo Xilai police chief charged with covering up Neil Heywood murder | Bo Xilai police chief charged with covering up Neil Heywood murder |
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| A Chinese police chief will go on trial accused of bribery, defection and abuse of power, including allegedly covering up a murder by the wife of his boss, Bo Xilai, state media have announced. | A Chinese police chief will go on trial accused of bribery, defection and abuse of power, including allegedly covering up a murder by the wife of his boss, Bo Xilai, state media have announced. |
| The charges against Wang Lijun are a further blow to Bo, the ousted party secretary of south-western Chongqing, whose wife, Gu Kailai, was convicted last month of killing the British businessman Neil Heywood. Indicting the politician's former ally not just for his flight to a US consulate but for offences related to his duties as deputy mayor and police chief raises obvious questions about Bo's own behaviour, analysts said. | The charges against Wang Lijun are a further blow to Bo, the ousted party secretary of south-western Chongqing, whose wife, Gu Kailai, was convicted last month of killing the British businessman Neil Heywood. Indicting the politician's former ally not just for his flight to a US consulate but for offences related to his duties as deputy mayor and police chief raises obvious questions about Bo's own behaviour, analysts said. |
| Bo, once tipped for promotion in this autumn's once-a-decade party congress, has not been seen since March when officials announced he was under investigation for unspecified disciplinary offences, and the statement on Wang did not mention him. Many experts on Chinese politics believe the party would rather use internal mechanisms to deal with Bo to avoid further embarrassment, but the odds of the politician being tried in court appear to have shortened given the nature of the charges laid against his subordinate. | Bo, once tipped for promotion in this autumn's once-a-decade party congress, has not been seen since March when officials announced he was under investigation for unspecified disciplinary offences, and the statement on Wang did not mention him. Many experts on Chinese politics believe the party would rather use internal mechanisms to deal with Bo to avoid further embarrassment, but the odds of the politician being tried in court appear to have shortened given the nature of the charges laid against his subordinate. |
| Wang, who spearheaded Bo's populist crackdown on organised crime, set off the storm that toppled Bo when he fled to the US consulate in Chengdu in February, telling diplomats there that he believed Gu had murdered Heywood. Gu received a suspended death sentence, which will be commuted to life imprisonment if she commits no further crimes in the next two years in jail. | Wang, who spearheaded Bo's populist crackdown on organised crime, set off the storm that toppled Bo when he fled to the US consulate in Chengdu in February, telling diplomats there that he believed Gu had murdered Heywood. Gu received a suspended death sentence, which will be commuted to life imprisonment if she commits no further crimes in the next two years in jail. |
| The state news agency Xinhua reported that prosecutors had charged Wang with "bending the law for selfish ends, defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking", and had said the evidence was "concrete and abundant". "Although [he] had known beforehand that Bogu Kailai was under serious suspicion of murdering Neil Heywood, he consciously neglected his duty and bent the law for personal gain so that Bogu Kailai would not be held legally responsible. Wang was indicted for the crime of bending the law for personal gain," the prosecutors reportedly said. | The state news agency Xinhua reported that prosecutors had charged Wang with "bending the law for selfish ends, defection, abuse of power and bribe-taking", and had said the evidence was "concrete and abundant". "Although [he] had known beforehand that Bogu Kailai was under serious suspicion of murdering Neil Heywood, he consciously neglected his duty and bent the law for personal gain so that Bogu Kailai would not be held legally responsible. Wang was indicted for the crime of bending the law for personal gain," the prosecutors reportedly said. |
| Xinhua said the prosecutors alleged that Wang had accepted "massive bribes" and had "illegally used technical reconnaissance measures, either without the approval of authorities or by forging approval documents". The latter charge is particularly intriguing given claims that Chongqing officials wiretapped the calls of senior leaders visiting the city, including a call made to the president. | Xinhua said the prosecutors alleged that Wang had accepted "massive bribes" and had "illegally used technical reconnaissance measures, either without the approval of authorities or by forging approval documents". The latter charge is particularly intriguing given claims that Chongqing officials wiretapped the calls of senior leaders visiting the city, including a call made to the president. |
| "This is very bad news for Bo Xilai," said Cheng Li, an expert on elite politics at the Brookings Institute. "Despite the fact that Gu's case has been closed they can still try other people in relation to that." | "This is very bad news for Bo Xilai," said Cheng Li, an expert on elite politics at the Brookings Institute. "Despite the fact that Gu's case has been closed they can still try other people in relation to that." |
| Steve Tsang, of Nottingham University, said: "Clearly it is aimed at Bo. If all they wanted was to hush it up and not do much, they would make it a matter of defection and not raise these other issues. Wang couldn't have done all those things without his boss knowing – that's blatantly obvious." | Steve Tsang, of Nottingham University, said: "Clearly it is aimed at Bo. If all they wanted was to hush it up and not do much, they would make it a matter of defection and not raise these other issues. Wang couldn't have done all those things without his boss knowing – that's blatantly obvious." |
| Wang will be tried by the Chengdu intermediate people's court, Xinhua reported. No date was given and it did not say when he was indicted. In theory, courts should reach a verdict on a case within a month of charges being laid. | Wang will be tried by the Chengdu intermediate people's court, Xinhua reported. No date was given and it did not say when he was indicted. In theory, courts should reach a verdict on a case within a month of charges being laid. |
| Experts said various exemptions meant trials could take longer, but predicted that authorities would want the case concluded before the party congress in Beijing, expected in mid-October. | Experts said various exemptions meant trials could take longer, but predicted that authorities would want the case concluded before the party congress in Beijing, expected in mid-October. |
| Tsang suggested that the charges against Wang, given their implications for Bo's case, were a sign that the president, Hu Jintao, was fighting back before the congress. At the weekend his close ally Ling Jihua moved posts, reportedly after a fatal crash involving his son. "We have seen in the last two weeks or so Hu Jintao's people being pushed on to the defensive. It would be surprising if they just took that," he said. | Tsang suggested that the charges against Wang, given their implications for Bo's case, were a sign that the president, Hu Jintao, was fighting back before the congress. At the weekend his close ally Ling Jihua moved posts, reportedly after a fatal crash involving his son. "We have seen in the last two weeks or so Hu Jintao's people being pushed on to the defensive. It would be surprising if they just took that," he said. |
| News of Wang's indictment came a day after Chinese media reported that his former deputy Tang Jianhua had been arrested last month on bribery allegations. Tang was once hailed as a hero for his role in the "strike black" campaign against gangs and the officials who shielded them, which won national renown for Bo and Wang, although critics said abuses such as forced confessions were rife in the crackdown. | News of Wang's indictment came a day after Chinese media reported that his former deputy Tang Jianhua had been arrested last month on bribery allegations. Tang was once hailed as a hero for his role in the "strike black" campaign against gangs and the officials who shielded them, which won national renown for Bo and Wang, although critics said abuses such as forced confessions were rife in the crackdown. |
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