The Chinese Communist Party took a big step toward sealing the fate of fallen politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) yesterday, when a court jailed his former police chief for 15 years over charges that indicated Bo tried to derail a murder inquiry.
The court in Chengdu handed down the sentence against Wang Lijun (王立軍) after finding him guilty on four charges, including seeking to cover up the murder in November last year of a British businessman, Neil Heywood, by Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai (谷開來).
The verdict ended the career of one of China’s most storied and controversial police officers and moved the party closer to a formal decision on dealing with Bo, whose downfall has shaken a leadership handover due at a party congress as early as next month.
“[Because] he [Wang Lijun] rendered a major contribution, and according to the law he can receive a lighter sentence,” the court said.
Wang could have received life imprisonment, or even a death sentence.
The relatively mild sentence, following official confirmation that Wang shared incriminating clues and that Bo beat him after Wang confronted him over the murder allegations, added weight to predictions that the party will move to jail Bo, too, said He Weifang (賀衛方), a law professor at Peking University who has closely followed the case.
“The legal net around Bo Xilai has been slowly tightening,” He said. “He’ll certainly face a criminal trial.”
Experts have offered divided views over whether the party will put Bo before a criminal court or spare him and the leadership that disgrace by simply meting out lighter disciplinary punishment within the party. Some still see that latter course as more likely.
However, before Chinese authorities can launch a criminal investigation, the party leadership must first hear the results of an internal investigation and decide whether to hand Bo over. That could happen at a leadership conclave that must take place before the bigger party congress convenes.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese