Former Police Chief Charged in Major Chinese Scandal

September 07, 2012 from LinkAsia

This past February, Chongqing Deputy Mayor Wang Lijun fled to the US consulate in Chengdu, sparking a series of events that led to the ouster of his boss, Bo Xilai, from his Party post. Now, Wang Lijun has been charged with "defection, abuse of power, and bribe-taking." Host Yul Kwon reports on these developments.

(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

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

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

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

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

Deputy mayor

Deputy mayor is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official in many local governments. Many elected deputy mayors are members of the city council who are given the title and serve as acting mayor in the mayor's absence. Appointive deputy mayors serve at the... Explore this topic

Bribery

Bribery is an act of giving money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or ot... Explore this topic

Gu Kailai

Gu Kailai is the wife of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai. On August 20, 2012 she was found guilty of the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood and given a death sentence, suspended for two years. Her sentence is expected to be commuted to life imprisonment. Explore this topic

Neil Heywood

Neil Heywood was a British businessman who worked in China. He was associated with Bo Xilai, the former Communist Party of China Committee Secretary for Chongqing and a member of the Chinese Politburo. Heywood was found dead in his hotel room in Chongqing, and the initial offi... Explore this topic

Also See

Wang Lijun

Communist Party of China

Bo Xilai

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...

Latest Headlines

UK: Machete Man Justifies Attack in Shock Video

From newstodayuk | May 22

Pussy Rioter on Hunger Strike

From Reuters | May 22

Riot Nights Rock Stockholm 'Burbs

From Euronews | May 22

Get Link

Embed Video

Transcript

Yul Kwon:
The man who sparked China's biggest political scandal in decades has finally been charged.
Wang Li-jun, a former police chief in the megalopolis of Chongqing, has been charged with defection, bribe taking and abuse of power. Wang was a close associate of Bo Xilai, Chongqing's communist party boss and a high flyer who was on the fast track to one of China's top posts. Wang fled to an American consulate last February. Exactly why still isn't clear, but it's believed he had a falling out with Bo. Wang told American diplomats that Bo's wife had killed a British businessman. The disclosure eventually led to her conviction for murder.

The official news agency, Xinhua, says that Wang is charged with not revealing what he knew about the murder to higher authorities, and trying to cover it up for personal gain. He's also charged with taking bribes and is alleged to have gone 'AWOL' - leaving his post without permission. For that, Wang has been charged with defection, a capital crime in China.

Wang's former boss, Bo Xilai, is in detention somewhere in China. He's charged with serious violations of party discipline.

LinkTV World News app now on the iPad!

Watch Next

Latest Headlines