China: Police Chief Jailed, Is Bo Xilai Next?

September 24, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

When former Chongqing municipality police chief Wang Lijun confessed to taking bribes and covering up the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, he may have signed the death warrant for Communist Party star Bo Xilai's career. Bo's wife has been convicted of poisoning Heywood over an extortion attempt, and Wang was reportedly pressured by Bo after he began his investigation into the murder, eventually fleeing briefly to a US consulate. The Wang affair exposed the conspiracies and luxurious lifestyle of China's ruling class and forced the Communist Party to suspend Bo, once considered a rising star. Al Jazeera's Marga Ortigas reports.

(more) (less)

In This Video

Wang Lijun

Wang Lijun is a regional Chinese police official. He was the one-time vice-mayor and head of the Public Security Bureau of Chongqing, effectively the city's police chief. He is ethnically Mongol and is a native of Arxan, Inner Mongolia.He is famous for his involvement in the W... Explore this topic

Bo Xilai

Bo Xilai is a former Chinese politician. He came to prominence through his tenures as the mayor of Dalian and then governor of Liaoning province. From 2004 to November 2007, he served as Minister of Commerce. Between 2007 and 2012 he served as a member of the Central Politburo... Explore this topic

Chongqing

Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities in the People's Republic of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities, and the only such municipality in inland China. The municipality was crea... Explore this topic

Communist Party of China

The Communist Party of China, also known as the Chinese Communist Party, is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China. Although nominally it exists alongside the United Front, a coalition of governing political parties, in practice, the CPC is t... Explore this topic

Chengdu

Chengdu, formerly transliterated Chengtu, is the capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China. It holds sub-provincial administrative status. The urban area houses 14,047,625 inhabitants: 7,123,697 within the municipality's nine districts and 6,730,749 in the surrounding reg... Explore this topic

Politics of the People's Republic of China

The politics of the People's Republic of China take place in a framework of a single-party socialist republic. The leadership of the Communist Party is stated in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China. State power within the People's Republic of China (PRC) is exer... Explore this topic

China

China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a sovereign state located in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. The PRC is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party, with its seat of government in the cap... Explore this topic

Corrupt practices

Corrupt practices in English election law includes bribery, treating, undue influence, personation, and aiding, abetting, counselling and procuring personation. Explore this topic

Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of power by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal ac... Explore this topic

Defection

In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state in exchange for allegiance to another, in a way which is considered illegitimate by the first state. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to which one is bound by some tie, as ... Explore this topic

Also See

Wang Lijun

Bo Xilai

Chongqing

Watch Next

4:31

Post-Purge, Uncensored Anti-Bo Sentiment Floods Weibo

LinkAsia | Oct 5

When former Chongqing mayor and rising Communist Party star Bo Xilai was first indicted for corruption and abuse of power, his name and all associa...