http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9212258/Dozens-under-arrest-in-China-in-connection-with-Bo-Xilai-scandal.html
At least 39 people are thought to be being held, alongside Mr Bo, in the seaside town of Beidaihe, a favourite retreat for Communist party leaders.
"The detainees include Xu Ming, who had a very special relationship with Mr Bo, and some of the people who worked with him," said Wang Kang, a well-connected independent scholar and public figure in Chongqing who is the only person with inside information on Mr Bo's removal from power to go on the record.
"The detainees are mainly people from Dalian and other places, not from Chongqing," he added. Mr Xu is one of China's richest men, a billionaire who heads the Dalian Shide industrial conglomerate. The 41-year-old has not been seen at the company since mid-March.
One of the people in custody is Xia Deling, the former party chief of Nan'an district in Chongqing, the area in which Mr Heywood's body was discovered, on November 15, in the Nanshan Lijing Holiday Hotel.
Mr Xia has been rumoured to have supplied the cyanide that killed Mr Heywood. However, Mr Wang suggested that this is unlikely. "Xia Deling was promoted from the countryside to his post in Nan'an, skipping up two ranks, so he was very loyal. But I do not think he would have personally obtained the poison," he said.
"However, the Beijing public security bureau came to Chongqing and took him directly to Beijing, which is odd," he added. Mr Wang's claims about the arrests could not be independently verified.
Yesterday the 350-man Communist Party Central Committee, the body made up of the leading figures among China's government, army and party, said it had made a "resolute decision to thoroughly investigate" the web of intrigue around Mr Bo's family.
It said that an attempted defection to the United States by Wang Lijun, Chongqing's police chief, was a "serious political event that has created an adverse influence both at home and abroad" while the death of Mr Heywood, a 41-year-old British businessman and friend of the Bo family, was a "serious criminal case involving the kin and aides of a party and state leader". It added that Mr Bo had "seriously violated party discipline".
Mr Wang fled to the US consulate in Chengdu after discovering that Mr Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, may have been involved in Mr Heywood's death. Mr Bo stripped the police chief of his badge two days after being told the news about his wife. At the time, Mr Wang was suffering from "very obvious psychological problems", according to one inside source.
Allegations that Mr Heywood had been romantically involved, at some point, with Mrs Gu remain unclear. Mr Wang said that the same source that told him about a quarrel between Mr Bo and his police chief, Wang Lijun, also said there "had been a relationship" between Mr Bo's wife and Mr Heywood. However, other sources in Chongqing, close to the police investigation, told Reuters that the relationship was platonic.
Until the drama ended the careers of Mr Bo and Mr Wang, the pair had run Chongqing as a personal fief, spending lavishly and, on occasion, ignoring regulations.
Mr Wang, for example, began construction on an enormous monument to "Police Martyrs", ordering the top of one of Chongqing's mountains, Geleshan, to be closed off and rebuilt. Yesterday, construction had been halted on the £590,000 project, but the area was still closed off. Workers inside confirmed that it was Mr Wang's decision to build the monument.
One source with knowledge of the planned monument, comprising a "Wall of Heroes" and a series of columns rising to the top of the mountain, said the area was a protected national forest park and that Mr Wang had not obtained any permits from either the National Forestry Bureau or the Bureau of Parks and Woods. "He simply ordered it to be built," the source said.
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http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1101&MainCatID=11&id=20120418000145
Bo Xilai's first wife gets her revenge at last
Li Danyu has been described as a bomb that had followed Bo Xilai for more than ten years. (Internet photo)
Bo Xilai arrested Li Wanghe, his son by his first wife Li Danyu, prior to the attempted defection of his police chief Wang Lijun in February, according to the New York-based Duowei News, a China-watching website. The disgraced Chongqing party chief reportedly told Wang to arrest his own son for economic crimes in order to blackmail his first wife to remain silent ahead of the 18th National Congress later this year, where he hoped to secure a top position in China's once-in-a-decade leadership transition.
When Bo married Li Danyu in 1976, she was a military surgeon and the daughter of the Beijing party secretary Li Xuefeng. Li was reportedly attracted by the debonair Bo and pursued him strongly before they wed. Yet observers were curious about the marriage, as Li was a plain-looking woman and the attraction for Bo — himself the son of a former leader, the revolutionary "immortal" Bo Yibo — was not immediately apparent.
According to insiders, the marriage had a political purpose. At that time Bo was struggling to climb the political ladder and hoped to get rid of the stain of his past life as one of the many who suffered during the Cultural Revolution due to to his family background.
Bo Xilai's family was classified among the five categories of disgraced people due to his father Bo Yibo, a founding father of the PRC then being denounced by Mao Zedong as he sought to destroy his rivals. He was purged by the Gang of Four and was designated a "traitor, secret agent and historical counterrevolutionary." Bo initially was an enthusiastic member of the Red Guards and may himself have denounced his father. Yet as time went on, Bo Xilai together with his sisters and brothers were themselves denounced in turn.
Bo Xilai was jailed for five years for stealing. After he was released, he was first went to the countryside, then to a factory. Wherever he was sent he made efforts to be a model citizen and he eventually gained the chance to return to school to complete the studies that had been interrupted at the age of 17 by the political upheaval.
Since Li Danyu came from a powerful family, Bo Xilai thought he could advance more rapidly with her family's help. Soon after they married, they had a son, Bo Wanghe. With the end of the Cultural Revolution, Bo Yibo was rehabilitated. No longer in need of the influence of his wife's family, Bo tired of Li and began an affair with Gu Kailai, the younger sister of Li Danyu's sister-in-law, when he studied at Peking University.
Gu is the daughter of General Gu Jingsheng, former party second secretary of Xinjiang and political commissar of the Urumqi Military Region. Her family's political background was even more senior than that of Li Danyu and Gu was reckoned to be much prettier than his first wife into the bargain. After he finished graduate studies he found an excuse to transfer himself to serve in Jinxian, near the city of Dalian in the northeastern province of Liaoning, in order to get away from Li Danyu.
In Jinxian, Bo Xilai and Gu Kailai interacted closely and news of their extramarital affair was spreading widely, Li, who was left behind in Beijing and raising their son alone, felt frustrated and appealed to authorities in Beijing including the People's Supreme Court and the China Women's Federation. She condemned her husband as a heartless man and vowed never to let him off should he return to Beijing. Bo was placed in an awkward position by his wife's high-profile protests.
The couple's divorce lasted for four years, with Li refusing to agree to separate. Bo was finally rescued by his father, who used his power to resolve the matter, pushing through the divorce and welcoming Gu Kailai to the family.
After Li Danyu was expelled from the family, she changed Bo Wanghe's surname to Li. He graduated from Peking University before studying law at Columbia University in the United States and serving as a lawyer in China after his return.
Bo Xilai's first wife has continued to be a thorn in his side throughout his career. Over the last ten years she has sent numerous letters of petition, following him wherever he went and telling everyone about his adulterous behavior. One insider described Li Danyu as a bomb that has been tracking Bo Xilai for over ten years. Tang Baiqiao, Li Wanghe's classmate at Columbia, was quoted as saying that Bo was afraid his vengeful first wife would attempt to wreck his chances of securing a top leadership position at the 18th National Congress. He therefore reportedly detained their son in Jinzhou to threaten her to keep her mouth shut.
Ultimately, however, the effort was in vain and it was other skeletons in Bo's closet which finally brought him down. Yet of all the people happy to see the back of the ambitious politician, it is unlikely that any will feel more of a sense of personal satisfaction than Li Danyu.
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http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1101&MainCatID=11&id=20120418000088
UK-China consensus on Heywood 'just for show': commentator
Li Changchun met David Cameron on Tuesday in Downing Street. (Photo/Xinhua)
A political commentator in Hong Kong says that the conversation between David Cameron and Li Changchun regarding China's investigation into the death of Neil Heywood was merely for show, and that the Chinese government has already warned Britain to keep its distance from the investigation.
On April 17, the British prime minister met in London with Li, the fifth-ranked member of China's all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee, to discuss how to strengthen bilateral trade and cultural ties. As Cameron's office had said in advance, the prime minister also raised the suspected murder of the British businessman Neil Heywood, the incident which is emerging as the trigger for China's biggest political storm in decades.
Heywood was found dead in a hotel room in the southwestern Chinese municipality of Chongqing last November. Officials initially ruled the death of the 41-year-old was accidental, but it is now alleged that Heywood was poisoned by Gu Kailai, the wife of the's former party chief Bo Xilai, over a financial dispute. Gu and an orderly from the Bo family's home have been arrested on suspicion of murder, while Bo has been stripped of all his party posts and is being detained for "serious discipline violations," which are said to include widespread corruption involving hundreds of millions of dollars.
A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed that during Tuesday's meeting Cameron raised the case of Neil Heywood, saying that he welcomed the ongoing investigation and that the UK stood ready to offer any necessary assistance.
The statement added that in response, Li assured him that the case was being examined by the judiciary in full accordance with the rule of law, and that the parties agreed both governments would stay in close contact on the issue.
Similar remarks on the Heywood case were also raised at a meeting between the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, and Liu Yandong, a Chinese state councilor.
Yet Hong Kong-based political commentator Johnny Lau alleges that Cameron and Li's display of accord was merely a show for the public in both countries, as Beijing has already given a nod to the British to ensure that they keep their distance during the investigation, even as UK officials thank China for responding to their demand that the case be reopened.
For Beijing, Lau says, the Heywood investigation is crucial because a successful prosecution will help the party utterly discredit Bo, who was prior to his downfall seen as a flamboyant politician gunning for one of the country's top leadership positions. For Cameron, Lau believes, it is important to emphasize a firm stance on China's handling of the case to appease British voters concerned by a lack of transparency, and especially as uncovering the "truth" of Heywood's death will provide a boost to his popularity. Accordingly, this is why both sides are playing along with the script, Lau says.
Prior to Cameron and Li's meeting, the British foreign secretary William Hague had already called on Chinese authorities to assure that Britain would see "the conclusion of a full investigation that observes due process, is free from political interference, exposes the truth behind this tragic case and ensures that justice is done."
In a statement to members of parliament, Hague expressed the British government's impatience by revealing that it took Chinese authorities two months to act on Britain's concerns.
Hague noted that British officials were first made aware on Jan. 18 that Heywood's death might not have been from "overconsumption of alcohol" as Chinese authorities had initially claimed. These concerns were heightened on Feb. 7, a day after Bo's former right-hand man and police chief Wang Lijun fled to the US consulate in Chengdu, allegedly carrying evidence that Heywood's death was foul play.
Hague said the deputy head of the British embassy in Beijing met officials from the Chinese foreign ministry on Feb. 15 to raise their concerns and formally request an investigation. British officials also made two more similar requests on Feb. 21 and March 22, Hague added, but did not receive a response until April 10, when the Chinese government finally announced that it would be looking into the alleged murder.
Meanwhile, Reuters has published a report claiming that Bo had changed his mind several times about what to do with Wang after he confronted him with information about his wife's involvement in Heywood's death.
According to Reuters, informed sources said Wang had told Bo of his concerns on Jan. 18, after which an angry Bo kicked Wang out of his office but later called him back and told him to proceed with an inquiry, adding that he would "seriously punish" his wife — only to change his mind again three days later and effectively demote Wang from police chief to deputy mayor of Chongqing, setting the stage for Wang's dramatic flight to the US consulate in neighboring Chengdu on Feb. 6.
Reuters also reported on Monday that police believe Heywood was poisoned by Gu with cyanide in his drink after he threatened to expose her plans to move a large sum of money abroad. A source also said that Wang personally took over the case when several officers refused to sign off on the investigation report implicating Gu in Heywood's death, although others are claiming that Wang had raised the issue of Gu so that Bo would protect him from corruption investigations into himself.
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http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?cid=1101&MainCatID=11&id=20120417000095
Zhou Yongkang probed, Wen Jiabao censored: Mingjing/Boxun
Zhou Yongkang, right, the ninth-ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee and Bo Xilai's most powerful ally. (Photo/CNS)
The Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party recently conducted a classified two-day meeting in which it decided that Zhou Yongkang, the most senior ally of the disgraced Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai should be investigated in secret, reports Mingjing News, a New York-based website allegedly sourced by political insiders. The news comes amid reports that Zhou — a member of the all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee — has been trying to shut down gossip on international websites such as Mingjing, and rumors that criticism of government censorship by Premier Wen Jiabao was edited out by the censors supposedly under his command.
Zhou, head of the Political and Legislative Affairs Committee, has long been regarded as a supporter of Bo Xilai, the dismissed party chief of Chongqing who is reportedly under house arrest pending investigation into his "serious discipline violations." Bo's wife Gu Kailai and an orderly from his home have also been arrested on suspicion of the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood over a financial dispute.
There has been much speculation over Zhou's future since Bo's downfall, with some claiming that he and Bo were planning a coup and others saying that he will be the next to go.
This latest rumor from Mingjing has not been confirmed or denied by central government authorities, although state-run press agencies have reported that Zhou made a public appearance as recently as April 12.
According to some commentators, party tradition usually precludes punishment of incumbent Politburo Standing Committee members, leading most observers to believe that Zhou will be given a "soft landing." However, as the Bo Xilai scandal is widely perceived to be the biggest political storm China has seen since the dismissal of the party's general secretary Zhao Ziyang during the Tiananmen protests of 1989, political insiders are saying that anything is possible.
Boxun, a citizen journalism website based in the United States which is another controversial news source sprouting various rumors on the ongoing scandal, reports that Zhou has ordered government hackers to attack Boxun and Mingjing, and has sent a special task force to the US to investigate how inside information has been leaking overseas. Mingjing has also corroborated the rumor, adding specifically that Zhou's decision to attempt to bring down the two websites was made on April 13.
Meanwhile, there have also been rumors floating around the internet that both Boxun and Mingjing are actually controlled by people belonging the faction of former president Jiang Zemin. The rumor is said to have been started by Zhou's supporters to attack the legitimacy of Boxun and Mingjing, although analysts have pointed out that the whole idea makes little sense as the websites are typically critical of Jiang and the Chinese leadership in general.
In yet another sign that rumors and speculation are getting out of hand, Boxun released a further article which claims that Premier Wen Jiabao has blamed the recent wave of unsubstantiated rumors on the central government, but the criticism was edited out of the final version of his essay.
On April 16, Wen published an essay in the party journal Seeking Truth, in which he promised reforms to stamp out corruption by government officials and increase accountability, adding that governments should immediately investigate problems reported by the public and the media.
However, according to a Boxun source, Wen's essay was heavily edited and his strongest criticisms of the government were removed.
The source claims that Wen's original essay reprimanded Zhou for attempting to quash rumors relating to the Bo Xilai scandal on the internet, comparing it to the purges of the Cultural Revolution. Wen allegedly wrote that the government was equally to blame in creating rumors and lies by not being open in its official statements, such as when the Chongqing municipal government initially reported Wang Lijun as receiving "vacation-style treatment" for stress following his infamous flight to the US consulate in Chengdu in February — a euphemism that members of the public were not slow to recognize and mock. Wen allegedly said the reason why there are so many rumors is because the government has not been transparent with its people, and that such speculation is merely a reflection of the people's love and concern for their country.
If Boxun is to be believed, all of these remarks were removed prior to the essay's publication.
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