China says disgraced leader Bo Xilai expelled from
Communist Party, to face criminal charges

By
Associated Press, Updated: Friday, September 28, 8:31 AM

BEIJING — China’s communist
leadership expelled Bo Xilai from the ruling party Friday and sought to bury
him with charges ranging from corruption to sexual affairs, aiming to sweep
away their most damaging scandal in decades while finally scheduling their
long-awaited leadership transition for November.

A statement from the party’s
Politburo amounted to a surprisingly strong and wide-ranging indictment against
Bo, effectively ending the public of life of the flamboyant 63-year-old
populist who was one of China’s best known politicians and whose ambition was
considered a menace to the country’s top leaders.

The former Politburo member and
regional party chief is to be charged with crimes dating back more than a
decade, including abuse of power, bribe taking and improper relations with
several women — banned by the party because they are considered an inducement
to corruption. He also is accused of involvement in the cover-up of his wife’s
murder of a British businessman, which was instrumental in triggering his
downfall.

“They want to drive a stake through
the heart of his political career, and make it absolutely impossible, not only
for him to reappear but for anyone else who has that idea of trying to create
that sort of personalized, political, charismatic leadership in some part of
China which may challenge the leadership,” said Rana Mitter, professor of
Chinese history and politics at Oxford University.

The Politburo also announced the
party congress would take place Nov. 8.

Dates for the congress, held once
every five years, were overdue and highly anticipated because it will see
President Hu Jintao step down after 10 years as party boss — and China’s
ultimate leader — to be replaced by Vice President Xi Jinping.

The congress had been expected to
take place in mid-October, although the preparations were overshadowed by the
Bo scandal.

“Bo Xilai’s behavior resulted in
serious repercussions and enormous damage to the reputation of the party and
the nation, producing extremely vile effects domestically and overseas, and
causing heavy damage to the cause of the party and the people,” the Politburo
said in a statement issued following its meeting in Beijing.

Speculation swirled for months over
whether the party would harshly punish one of its own for criminal wrongdoing,
or merely allow its own disciplinary arm to deal him a slap on the wrist.

The scandal was set off when a
trusted Bo aide disclosed that his boss’s wife had murdered a British
businessman. Bo was sacked as party chief of the city of Chongqing; his wife,
Gu Kailai, was given a suspended death sentence after confessing to the murder;
and the aide, Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun, received a 15-year prison term
for initially covering up the murder and other misdeeds.

The trials of Wang, which wrapped up
this week, and Gu, which finished earlier, cleared the way for the party to
decide whether to charge Bo with criminal wrongdoing. But his ouster from the
leadership early this year opened a window into the divisive jostling for power
as president and party leader Hu prepares to retire to make way for younger
leaders.

Bo is the first Politburo member to
be purged and handed to prosecutors since Hu had Shanghai party secretary Chen
Liangyu sentenced for corruption in 2007. In that case, more than a year passed
before Chen stood trial, perhaps auguring a long wait before Bo’s case goes to
court.

High-level purges, however, are
almost always more about political power plays than crimes.

Bo was a divisive figure among
Chinese leaders. Self-assured and comfortable with the media, he promoted
populist policies as party chief of Chongqing and rode high-profile campaigns
to bust organized crime gangs and promote communist culture to national
popularity. His ambition was seen as a threat not only by Hu but to Hu’s
soon-to-be-installed successor, Xi Jinping.

Bo’s supporters called the Politburo
decision a political tactic. “I have doubts on any criminal wrongdoings of Bo
Xilai. I need to see the evidence,” said Han Deqiang, an economics professor at
Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a leading voice in what
Chinese call the new left. “I think this is a political battle turned into a
criminal one.”

Bo’s detractors, however, were
cheered by the news, though they too saw politics at play in the decision.

“This announcement is long overdue.
This means there is some progress in the rule of law in China. There is more
transparency,” said Li Zhuang, a formidable defense lawyer who found himself
jailed in Chongqing after he accused police of extracting his client’s
confession by torture. “Of course it is also political. In China, politics and
law often go hand in hand.”

The decision by the 25-member
Politburo, of which Bo had been a member, said that “investigations show that
Bo had seriously violated party discipline ... abused his power, committed
grave mistakes and should be held responsible for the Wang Lijun case as well
as Gu’s murder case.”

The mention of Gu’s case appeared to
be a reference to obstruction of justice. Wang testified that Bo ignored him
when he told him of his suspicions, then boxed him in the ears, demoted him,
and detained several of his subordinates.

It was the first direct mention of
Bo in state media in months. His name was not mentioned for both Gu’s and
Wang’s trials.

The Politburo statement said that he
took huge amounts of bribes directly or through his family and “maintained
illicit relationships with numerous females.” It said Bo’s crimes dated from
his time as mayor of the eastern port city of Dalian, through his term as
commerce minister and as leader of Chongqing.

Bo’s removal is seen as strengthening
Xi’s position, leaving him the undisputed leader of the party’s “princelings,”
as the offspring of high-ranking communist elders are known.

“Now Bo is finished, Xi can take
over those supporters from Bo and enlarge his network among the princelings,” said
China politics analyst Willy Lam of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Yet his ouster will do nothing to
win over Bo supporters among party hardliners and admirers of Bo, who was
widely popular among working-class Chinese.

“Xi is safer with Bo gone, but the
hardliners will withhold their cooperation at the congress as a sign of their
disapproval,” said China expert Feng Chongyi of the University of Technology in
Sydney, Australia.

Friday’s Politburo meeting sets a
series of events in motion. The 204-member Central Committee, a cross-section
of the national party elite, usually convenes about a week before the congress
to approve decisions already made by the Politburo. Privately, the committee
will also approve the incoming leaders and a policy blueprint for the next five
years.

Associated Press writers Gillian
Wong, Didi Tang and Isolda Morillo contributed to this report.

[薄還是有數十億美元的收賄所得藏在世界各處! 不過中共所有領導人都如此啊!]

中共中央28日宣布開除前重慶市委書記薄熙來的黨職與公職，並將其涉及的犯罪問題移送司法機關處理。中共下重手懲處薄熙來，顯示不願讓薄案影響十八大後新領導人的接班。圖為薄熙來3月出席全國人大會議的檔案照。（歐新社）

重懲薄、18大後人事達成共識

〔編譯陳成良／綜合報導〕中共中央廿八日透過新華社宣布開除前重慶市委書記薄熙來的黨職與公職，且將其涉及的犯罪問題移送司法機關處理；隨後又宣布建議十一月八日召開十八大會議。新華社在不到一分鐘內先後以快訊公布這兩項全球矚目的新聞，顯示中共黨內各派系已就重懲薄熙來與十八大後的人事達成共識，力求在十八大前對薄案做出處置，以免此事成為話題並轉移人民對十八大的注意力。

新華社報導，中國共產黨中央政治局廿八日召開會議，決定對前重慶市委書記薄熙來「雙開」（開除黨職與公職）處分，還公布他與多名女性發生不當性關係等不堪罪名，對其涉嫌犯罪問題移送司法機關處理，同時建議十一月八日召開確定中國新一代領導層的中共十八次全國代表大會（十八大）會議，待黨的十七屆七中全會予以追認。

薄收賄、玩女人官方細數罪名

新華社在稍後發布的詳訊中指出，任何人踐踏黨紀國法都要嚴厲懲處，絕不容腐敗份子逃脫，要體現從嚴治黨與依法治國的執政理念。專家指出，中共中央決定對薄熙來雙開及薄案依法處理，顯示中國國家主席胡錦濤，以及他的接班人、副主席習近平聯手，決定徹底處理黨內問題，薄熙來恐遭重懲。

在官方公布的雙開理由中，細數薄熙來從擔任大連市長、遼寧省長到商務部部長都有違反紀律情形，甚至說薄熙來與多名女性發生或保持不正當性關係、利用職權為他人牟利、其家人收受他人巨額財物、違反組織人事紀律、用人失察失誤，造成嚴重後果等。此外，調查中還發現了薄熙來其他涉嫌犯罪問題線索，在重慶市原副市長王立軍事件和妻子薄谷開來故意殺人案件中，濫用職權，犯有嚴重錯誤、負有重大責任。

紐約時報與華盛頓郵報的分析都指出，中共宣布了這些嚴重且不堪的罪名，而且從大連市長時期開始追溯，顯示中共領導人已達成共識，必須嚴懲薄熙來。路透引述英國諾丁漢大學當代中國研究副教授賴洪毅看法稱，可能被判重刑，但不致死。依慣例政治局委員不判死刑。北京大學法學教授賀衛方認為，薄熙來可能被處二十年或以上的有期徒刑。

追溯罪名薄熙來可能被判重刑

根據新華社披露的中共中央處理薄案的細節，中央政治局是在四月十日的會議中，聽取了對王立軍私入美國駐成都總領事館滯留事件的調查，和對薄谷開來涉嫌毒殺英國公民海伍德案件覆查的匯報，認為薄熙來在兩案中均存在錯誤和責任，且在兩案調查過程中，還發現了薄熙來的其他違紀線索，中央決定，停止他在政治局、中央委員職務，並由紀委對其立案檢查。

六十三歲的薄熙來是中共元老薄一波之子，是所謂的太子黨成員，在重慶掌權期間大力主張「唱紅打黑」，引發中共黨內路線之爭，他因王立軍事件遭到立案調查，最後斷送政治前途，從三月迄今遭到軟禁，確實下落不明。

早在新華社宣布前，即有風聲傳出中共中央要在十一長假前就薄案或十八大日期做出宣布，不料最後兩者同時定案。

中国、薄煕来氏の刑事訴追決定…党籍・公職剥奪

　【北京＝竹内誠一郎】新華社通信によると、中国共産党は２８日、政治局会議を開き、党中央規律検査委員会の調査を受けていた薄煕来 ( ボーシーライ ) 前重慶市党委書記（６３）について、党籍を剥奪して公職から追放するとともに、司法機関に移送する処分を決めた。

　英国人実業家殺人事件に関する「職権乱用」のほか、「巨額の収賄」などに問われており、厳しい刑事処分が下される見通しだ。胡錦濤 ( フージンタオ ) 政権は第１８回党大会を前に、事件の幕引きを図った。

　これまでの調べによると、薄氏の妻、谷開来 ( グーカイライ ) 服役囚（５３）（猶予付き死刑確定）は、知人の英国人実業家と金銭を巡って対立。２０１１年１１月１３日、この実業家を重慶市内のホテルで毒殺し、部下の王立軍・元同市公安局長（懲役１５年判決）が証拠隠滅を図った。

　２８日、政治局会議に提出された報告は、薄氏が同事件に関し、「職権を乱用し、大きな誤りを犯した重大な責任がある」と指摘した。証拠隠滅などの関与が問われたものとみられる。報告はまた、薄氏が遼寧省大連市長や商務相、重慶市党委書記時代を通じ、「直接、または家族を通して巨額の賄賂を受けた」と認定した。

（2012年9月28日21時39分読売新聞）

許清曉(Clement C.S.Hsu, MD)

2012年9月28日星期五

中共開除薄熙來黨、公職

中国、薄煕来氏の刑事訴追決定…党籍・公職剥奪

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張貼留言

2012年9月28日 星期五

中共開除薄熙來黨、公職

中国、薄煕来氏の刑事訴追決定…党籍・公職剥奪

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張貼留言

2012年9月28日星期五