Bo Xilai trial set for August, charges of corruption and above all, of defying Beijing
Beijing (AsiaNews) - The former Party chief of Chongqing, the once powerful Bo Xilai, has been officially charged with corruption and abuse of power. It is expected that the trial will be held in mid-August in Jinan, capital of Shandong, where investigations against him were first launched.
According to Xinhua - citing the charge
sheet - Bo "embezzled an extremely large amount of public funds and abused
his powers of office, causing heavy losses to the interests of the nation and
the people in an extremely serious way".
Unofficial
reports say that Bo accepted bribes of up to 20 million yuan (about € 2
million), pocketing more than 5 million yuan and exercised endless abuse.
A very curious fact: the
indictment makes no mention of his responsibilities in covering up the murder
of Neil Heywood, a British businessman poisoned by Bo Xilai's wife who was sentenced
last August. Another
"curious" fact is that since last year, since he was discharged from
the Politburo and expelled
from the Party in April this year, Bo disappeared in police custody. Despite
having guaranteed a "fair trial", the authorities have held him
incommunicado until now and have not even allowed him to meet his two defense
lawyers. The
judges set to preside at the trial have "disappeared" from Jinan:
most likely are being instructed by the Party on how to conduct the trial and
sentencing.
Analysts
explain that all the caution and secrecy shrouding the case are due to the fact
that in this trial is likely to see the
Party "on trial itself" and the whole generation of
"princelings" - the children of the great Party leaders - who like Bo,
have enriched
themselves on the backs of the population, abusing influences and power.
In
addition, Bo Xilai is still much loved in Chongqing, where he is remembered for
his campaign against the local mafia and his housing programs, as well as a
populist revival of Maoism.
Having
been a member of the Politburo - with hopes of becoming even Party General
Secretary - Bo is the highest grade personality to be tried in recent years. Before
him, in 2008, Chen
Liangyu, secretary of the Party in Shanghai, was tried for having pocketed
millions of yuan and manipulated sums amounting to several billion Euros.
A
commentary published today in the Xinhua explains the reason for the fall from
grace of the son of Bo Yibo: he had become too powerful. "China's
historical experience - the article explains - has shown over and over again
that the nation's long-term stability can only be secured by protecting the
authority of the central leadership."
Challenging
the central power is the real crime, not corruption, that is widespread among
all members of the Party.
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