Fall from Grace: The three mistakes of Bo Xilai’s Life

The last few days, beginning August 22, 2013, have been unlike any other for the Intermediate People’s Court in Jinan, China.  For starters, this ordinary grey building now has yellow traffic barriers lining up its premises. Roads leading up to its courtrooms have all been sealed off and stern police personnel patrol its periphery. The court, however, continues to attract another avatar of ‘traffic’- the online kind. Having decided to liveblog the proceedings of one of China’s most spectacular political scandals, the Jinan Court now has nearly 2 million followers on Sina Weibo.[i] And the reason for its newfound popularity- the trial of disgraced Chinese politician Bo Xilai.

Accused of abuse of power, embezzlement of funds and taking more than USD 3.5 million as bribe, Bo Xilai’s trial has marked a new sensational chapter in China’s political history. And this isn’t just because Bo Xilai called the prosecutor’s witness “a crazy dog snapping at things for reward”, his former police chief “a despicable liar” or even his own wife “mentally unsound”. No, it isn’t because of the trial’s lurid soap-opera plot; rather it’s due to the man himself:  a man whose life story has come to resemble the mythical archetype of an overreacher.

Political Achievements

Born as the fourth child of prominent Commmunist Party leader Bo Yibo, Bo Xilai was one of China’s elite ‘princelings’[ii] – studying in the best schools and trained for an active interest in politics. Royalty, however, soon had a fall from grace when his father fell out of favour with the top Chinese leadership for favouring more open trade relations with the West.[iii] Sent to 12 years in prison, Bo Yibo’s children were also either imprisoned or sent to the countryside and Bo Xilai himself was reportedly locked up for five years.[iv]

It was the end of the Cultural Revolution that kick-started Bo Xilai’s political career. The 31-year old Bo became a member of the Communist Party in October 1980 and quickly rose through party ranks. Political and economic successes in the form of increased investment, infrastructure, UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Awards soon earned him a reputation for ‘getting things done’.[v] Known for re-initiating radical Maoist policies and rejecting democratic reforms, Bo Xilai ensured that the top brass of the Communist Party made him an important player in China’s North-east Revitalization project and the mascot of its ‘growth-oriented’ Chongqing economic model and other key projects. Bo’s roles as the Mayor of Dalian, China’s Minister of Commerce, a Politburo member and the Party Chief of Chongqing therefore really came as no surprise to anyone. He was, after all, one of China’s new-age heroes or as some regarded him then – competition to Xi Jinping (China’s current President).

But Bo Xilai didn’t quite adhere to his countrymen’s prescriptive wisdom: “If you must play, then decide three things at the start: the rules of the game, the stakes and the quitting time.” [vi]While Bo did set the rules of the game and set the stakes high, the Communist Party stepped in to announce his quitting time. And this happened due to three factors

Mistake one: Corruption and Embezzlement

According to the indictment posted by the Jinan court, Bo Xilai is accused of receiving bribes totalling 21.8m yuan ($3.56m; £2.28m) from two businessmen Xu Ming and Tang Xiaolin. Prosecutors say Mr Bo took the bribes directly, or through his wife Gu Kailai and his son Bo Guagua and moved the funds abroad.[vii]

Mistake two: The Death of Neil Haywood

It was British businessman Neil Heywood who allegedly served as a middleman for the Bo family and helped them secretly move large sums of money overseas.[viii] In October 2011, the family had a fall-out with Heywood when he demanded a higher commission. On the former’s non-compliance, the dispute escalated and allegedly led to Heywood’s poisoning by Bo’s wife Gu and an assistant.[ix]

Mistake three: The Wang Lijun incident

In February 2012, Chongqing city government announced that its police chief, Wang Lijun, had been shifted to another job because he had fallen out of favour with Bo Xilai. Suspicions arose when Wang, who was in charge of the investigation of the Heywood homicide, fled to the US Consulate in Chengdu. Many believe he went there to seek asylum.[x] At a news conference in March 2012, the then Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao indirectly criticised Bo Xilai for his handling of the Wang Lijun incident. It was the first comment from a senior national leader on the issue, and soon led to Bo Xilai’s political downfall[xi]

China soon announced that Bo Xilai has been removed from his post as party chief in Chongqing. Accused of serious disciplinary violations, he was later expelled from the party’s Central Committee and its Politburo

Fast forwarding to his trial, for the last few days in the courtroom, Bo Xilai has remained defiant and firm in his stance. Presenting what has been termed a ‘spirited defence’ by analysts, Bo has argued that he had admitted to bribery charges against his will[xii]. This is especially significant considering that many had already predicted the trial to be a pre-choreographed one where Bo would soon be taken to task through a death sentence or lifelong imprisonment. Bo, however surprised the prosecution by calling their witness Tang Xiaolin a “crazy dog snapping at things for reward”. Labelling the businessman’s actions a “blasphemy’ to the sanctity of the courtroom”, Bo argued that Tang’s evidence had no credibility.[xiii] This, when “the investigators had worked hard and collected more than 90 volumes of evidence (against Bo)”[xiv]. Bo’s defiance further came to light in his reaction to his wife’s testimony against him. He went on to call her words “ridiculous” while the court’s Weibo page also posted Bo’s lawyer as saying that Gu was “mentally unsound” and her words could not be trusted. [xv] As a last ditch effort to gain sympathy, he even alleged that his wife and police chief Wan shared a “special relationship” which had deeply hurt him.

Many in China have argued that the trial is a classic representation of the Central Leadership’s dilemma. While, on one hand, they want to avoid any dissent and corruption in the party again, there are quite a few who are also vocal (though not publicly) in their support of his economic policies. His supporters continue to throng the streets near the courthouse holding up portraits of Mao and posters reading: “Chongqing’s experiments benefited the country and the people. Wealth for all is what the people want.”[xvi] The Party is, therefore, now trying to walk the tightrope between its Maoist ideals, economic reforms for people and its lacklustre international image in terms of legal reforms. Whether it succeeds in doing so remains to be seen as the Jinan Court has declared that it would pronounce its judgement at a later date. For now, the only thing that remains certain is that Bo Xilai’s fate is as doomed as that of the alleged ‘lovers’, Capricornian Wang and Scorpion Gu[xvii]; with no chance of a political or personal resurrection.

References

[1] Teo, Esther (2013), “Netizens following proceedings of Bo Xilai trial closely on Weibo”, The Straits Times, Beijing: August 22, 2013. URL:

http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/asia-report/china/story/netizens-following-proceedings-bo-xilai-trial-closely-weibo-20

[1] Wines, Michael (2012), “In Rise and Fall of China’s Bo Xilai, an Arc of Ruthlessness”, The New York Times, Beijing: May 6, 2012. URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/world/asia/in-rise-and-fall-of-chinas-bo-xilai-a-ruthless-arc.html?_r=1&hp&pagewanted=all

[1] Source: Kahn, Joseph “Bo Yibo, leader who helped reshape China’s economy, dies”, The New York Times, Beijing: January 16, 2007. URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/16/world/asia/16iht-obits.4228059.html?_r=0

[1] Zhang, Wenxian; Alon, Ilan “Biographical dictionary of new Chinese entrepreneurs and business leaders,” Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc, (2009) [and Wikipedia URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bo_Xilai]

[1] Naughton, Barry (2004) “Hunkering Down: The Wen Jiabao Administration and Macroeconomic Recontrol”.China Leadership Monitor. Hoover Foundation. URL: http://media.hoover.org/sites/default/files/documents/clm11_bn.pdf

[1] URL: http://www.slideshare.net/bright9977/10-life-lessons-from-chinese-proverbs

[1] BBC (2013), British Broadcasting Corporation, “Bo Xilai trial as blogged by the court”, 22 August , URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-23777038

[1] Jason Lewis, Harriet Alexander and David Eimer(2012), “Neil Heywood murder: Bo’s wife, a French businessman and the £40 million property empire” The Daily Telegraph, Beijing: May 6, 2012.URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9248287/Neil-Heywood-murder-Bos-wife-a-French-businessman-and-the-40-million-property-empire.html

[1] Damien McElroy and Malcolm Moore (2012), “Bo Xilai’s wife ‘was in the room when Neil Heywood was poisoned’”, The Daily Telegraph, Beijing: April 24, 2012. URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/9224598/Bo-Xilais-wife-was-in-the-room-when-Neil-Heywood-was-poisoned.html

[1] BBC (2013), British Broadcasting Corporation, “Bo Xilai Scandal: Timeline”, 19 August , URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-17673505

[1] BBC (2013), British Broadcasting Corporation, “Bo Xilai Scandal: Timeline”, 19 August , URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-17673505

[1] Wong Gillian (2013), “Bo Xilai on trial: Ousted China politician denies corruption charges”, CTV News: Beijing: August 22, 2013. URL:

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/bo-xilai-on-trial-ousted-china-politician-denies-corruption-charges-1.1421606

[1] BBC (2013), British Broadcasting Corporation, “Bo Xilai trial as blogged by the court”, 22 August , URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-23777038

[1] Kaiman, Jonathan (2013), “Bo Xilai reveals wife’s affair with deputy as trial comes to an end”, The Guardian, Jinan: August 26, 2013. URL: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/26/bo-xilai-trial-ends

[1] BBC (2013), British Broadcasting Corporation, “Bo Xilai trial as blogged by the court”, 22 August , URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-23777038

[1] Kaiman Jonathan and Branigan, Tania (2013), “Bo Xilai trial begins in China amid protests and media scrutiny”, The Guardian, Jinan: August 22, 2013. URL: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/22/bo-xilai-trial-opens-china

[1] (According to Chinese superstition since Gu is a Scorpio and Wang a Capricorn, their match would always be a failure) as repoted by Moore, Malcolm (2013), “Bo Xilai trial: wife and police chief ‘in love triangle’”, The Telegraph, Jinan: August 26, 2013. URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/10266265/Bo-Xilai-trial-wife-and-police-chief-in-love-triangle.html

(The views expressed in this article are personal reflections of the author.)

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