http://www.businessinsider.com/bo-xilai-neil-heywood-money-death-2012-4
Some incredible reports from Chongqing this morning.
and..
Some incredible reports from Chongqing this morning.
Malcolm Moore of the Telegraph speaks to a source who tells him that the city's top Communist officials were called to a meeting on April 10. There, with no phones or note-taking allowed, and they were read a document that stated that Bo Xilai had used brutal methods in a bid to end the investigation into his wife, Gu Kailai, and the death of British businessman Neil Heywood.
While Bo was unable to stop the local police chief, Wang Lijun, from fleeing to the US consulate (reports would bring the entire scandal to Western attention), his security detail reportedly found people connected to him. The document reportedly read:
"At last seven of Wang's associates, including his driver, were arrested by Bo, and at least two were tortured to death."
The idea of a popular modern Chinese politician torturing his enemies to death is shocking, though according to reports in the Epoch Times Bo and his mentor Zhou Yongkang came to power after a brutal crackdown on Falun Gong members. It seems this violent past is now being used (cynically) in a power struggle against the pair.
New details have emerged of Heywood's sad death today too. The Times of London has a new report that suggests Heywood was suffering from monetary problems before his death, and left only a small amount to his family. He reportedly bought his daughter an Apple laptop before he left on his fatal trip to Chongqing in November 2011 — she bragged to friends she would "use it for 10 years".
Grim details of Heywood's demise have also come out, Leo Lewis reports:
The evidence is thought to be a quantity of poison that he spat across the room of the secluded hilltop villa to which he was lured by representatives of the Bo family. Unverifiable media reports suggested that when a first attempt to make him drink the poison failed, Mr Heywood was pinned down by two people and forced to swallow the lethal dose.
and..
Wang Lijun tapped Hu Jintao calls: Ming Pao
Former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai. (File photo/CNS)
Wang Lijun was tapping other Chinese leaders' phones prior to his dismissal as Chongqing's security head, according to Ming Pao News, which say it has access to Communist Party sources.
Wang reportedly turned against former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai after Wang found information about Bo's family on the computer of murdered British businessman Neil Heywood.
Bo and his wife, Gu Kailai, have been listed as the main suspect in the case of the deceased British businessman, whose murder occurred last November. Bo and members of the city committee stripped Wang of his position on Feb. 1, possibly due to the Neil Heywood case. Wang was arrested after his visit to the US consulate in Chengdu for political protection.
Before the Heywood case, Wang was also being investigated for tapping private phone calls between Chongqing officials and President Hu Jintao.
The line between Liu Huanglei, the standing committee of Chongqing, and Hu was monitored for a long time by Wang. The move was discovered early on by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, according to Beijing sources.
The Chongqing government also reportedly knew about Wang's intention to seek political asylum from the United States but did nothing to stop him.
There are rumors that the Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Central Committee started secretly investigating Wang last year, which Bo was aware of.
Wang Pengfei, chief of Yubei Public Security Station of Chongqing, was also investigated by Bo due to Wang Pengfei's close relationship with Wang Lijun. Wang Pengfei has retrieved his position since Bo's ouster. He was dismissed by Bo because of being accused of providing the car for Wang Lijun to go to the US consulate.
and....
Jiang Zemin signed off on Bo Xilai after concession from Hu: Boxun
Hu Jintao, left, and Jiang Zemin chat at a ceremony in Beijing to mark the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution in October last year. (Photo/Xinhua)
The US-based citizen journalism site Boxun claims that anonymous high-ranking sources in the PLA have said the former Chinese president Jiang Zhemin gave his agreement to the ending of Bo Xilai's career on the understanding that Hu Jintao will give up not only his political posts but also his position as head of the military at the party's 18th National Congress, where China's once-in-a-decade leadership transition will take place later this year.
According to the sources, the top circle of power in Beijing were divided over how Bo was handled and nearly came to a deadlock resulting in turmoil within the party and the military. The 85-year-old Jiang, who has been living in Shanghai, reportedly traveled to Beijing in early April. The trip was ostensibly to attend a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the military commander Zeng Shan but was in fact a move to resolve the political stalemate. At this point Bo had been sacked from his Chongqing posts but still retained his positions on the Politburo and Central Committee as the leadership was still discussing how to proceed.
Arriving in Beijing, Jiang did not meet the nine members of the Politburo Standing Committee immediately but communicated with senior PLA officials, ordering them to follow all commands from Beijing. On April 9, the nine members of China's top decision-making body came to the office of the party's Central Military Commission at Beijing's Western Hill to discuss the disagreement over Bo's case.
The group in favor of Bo's dismissal, led by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao, insisted that Bo seriously violated the rules of the party and the nation's laws, and that he had allegedly allied with certain senior officials to thwart Xi Jinping from taking over from Hu Jintao as China's president. The group supporting Bo, which included National People's Congress chief Wu Bangguo and Zhou Yongkang, the head of the Central Political and Legislative Committee, said the allegations about Bo lacked strong evidence and it seemed like foreign parties were attempting to stir trouble. They stressed that the party should not decide Bo's fate according to rumors.
The sources said Jiang was not surprised about the discrepancy between the two factions. The former president reportedly believed the best way to eradicate any conspiracy theories regarding plans to prevent Xi Jinping's succession ahead of the 18th National Congress would be for Xi to have total control over the party, politics and the military for him to establish his own authority as the nation's leader.
Meanwhile, Jiang asked Hu to declare that he would not only hand over the post of general secretary of the party to Xi at the 18th National Congress, but also his position as head of the military at the same time. As for the title of president, Jiang suggested that this could be transferred at the country's next annual parliamentary meetings in 2013.
When Jiang handed over the presidency to Hu ten years ago, he remained head of the military for another two years, the staggered transition of power intended to ensure a continuation of policy.
Hu said he agreed with Jiang in principle but that many things must be prepared for a complete handover. As Bo triggered a political upheaval ahead of the party congress, when the leadership particularly desires stability, he would consider delaying the meeting.
The sources said Jiang disagreed with Hu's proposal for a delay as this would send a signal to the international community that something is wrong in the party, giving hostile foreign elements an opportunity to sow disunity.
The meeting reportedly lasted until early morning on April 10, with the conclusion that Bo's case should be treated as an economic and criminal matter, but nothing should be said about the political dimension. The go-ahead was thus given for the state news agency Xinhua to announce Bo's suspension from the Central Committee and Politburo pending his investigation for "serious disciplinary violations."
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