SUN
WUKONG Party struggles to put the lid on
Bo By Wu Zhong, China Editor
HONG KONG - In an apparent effort to
minimize the political shocks from the dismissal
of Chongqing Chinese Communist Party (CCP)
secretary Bo Xilai and rampant speculation of what
he had done wrong, the CCP is now trying to play
down the incident as an isolated "criminal case".
This strongly indicates that Beijing does
not want the removal of Bo, also one of the 25
powerful politburo members, to escalate into an
internal political struggle that could destabilize
the transition of power at the 18th party congress
later this year.
Hence, there is unlikely
to be a massive political purge in the party and
the government following Bo's fall. Officials who
are not implicated in Bo's alleged criminal
offences - amid rumors
surrounding the murder
of British citizen Neil Heywood and corruption -
are unlikely to be affected.
Bo was
dismissed as Chongqing party secretary on March 15
- one day after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
publicly held the Chongqing party committee and
the government accountable for the incident of
former Chongqing police chief and Bo's right-hand
man Wang Lijun's "unauthorized entry" into the US
Consulate General in Chengdu on February 6.
Apparently acting on information provided
by Wang during an investigation, the CCP power
center announced on April 10 the suspension of
Bo's memberships in the CCP politburo and central
committee for "serious violations of discipline",
pending further investigation. It was also
announced that Bo's wife Gu Kailai and an orderly
at their home were suspects in the murder of
Heywood in Chongqing in November 2011.
To
be fair, reinvestigation into a homicide case half
a year earlier does take time, particularly in the
case of Heywood, whose remains were reportedly
immediately cremated. Hence it is not unusual that
Chinese authorities since then have kept mute on
the case.
This, however, leaves room for
the overseas media to speculate (China's state-run
media are strictly banned from carrying any
unauthorized reports). Some said Gu was Heywood's
one-time lover. Some said Heywood had a grudge
with Gu over some business disputes. Some said it
was Bo who personally ordered the murder of
Heywood because the latter held information that
could jeopardize Bo's political career.
The CCP can ignore such fiction-like
reports, but it has to take seriously rumors and
unconfirmed reports suggesting Bo's removal is a
result of a political struggle in the party and
that officials sympathizing or supporting him
would be purged. It is evident that after the
short-lived spread of rumors on the Internet about
a military coup in Beijing in mid-March, Chinese
police have closed down over a dozen websites and
detained people suspected of starting the rumors.
But this has failed to scare off overseas
media who continue to speculate about a political
struggle inside the CCP triggered by Bo's purge.
Although Zhou Yongkang, one of the nine
members of the politburo standing committee at the
center of the military-coup rumor, has made
frequent public appearances ever since, some
recent reports in the Hong Kong media still insist
that he is a political supporter of Bo and will be
disgraced.
There have also been reports
that several dozen officials in Chongqing and in
Dalian, where Bo used to work as mayor, have been
arrested for investigation. Other reports said
some People's Liberation Army (PLA) generals close
to Bo have "disappeared" or "being under
investigation". There were even reports that the
CCP may have to postpone its 18th congress in
October to deal with the political shock caused by
Bo's dismissal.
At home, the new leftists,
who oppose capitalist-style reform and opening up
and advocate a return to some sort of socialism,
have also tried to characterize Bo's dismissal as
a political purge. For instance, Kong Qingdong, a
Peking University professor and a die-hard new
leftist, immediately renounced the dismissal as a
"counter-revolutionary coup". Another new leftist
Sima Nan called it the "darkest day" in
contemporary China. After Beijing announced an
investigation into Bo, the new leftists demanded a
"public trial" to let the public make a judgment.
For the CCP, political and social
stability is crucial for smooth power transition
at the 18th Party Congress later this year (it is
unlikely it would be put off - that would only
cause greater political uncertainty). It cannot
sit idle and allow talk about a political struggle
to run wild.
Hence, last week the
state-run Xinhua News Agency dispatched three
editorials in three consecutive days to dismiss
Bo's purge as being one of "political struggle".
The editorials were all in English, apparently
targeting at overseas readers.
The
editorial on April 16 said:
The Bo Xilai
investigation is a case that the Communist Party
of China (CPC) has handled according to Party
regulation and discipline, reflecting the Party's
resolution to strictly govern itself. It does not
indicate a political struggle within the Party.
Prior to Bo, there were also members of
the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau who
were investigated and punished for discipline
violations, including Chen Xitong, former
secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of
CPC and Chen Liangyu, former secretary of the
Shanghai Municipal Committee of CPC.
The
way in which these cases were handled safeguarded
the dignity of Party discipline and law, won
resolute support from the people and were
conducive to China's healthy development.
By likening Bo's purge to
the two Chens', it implies there is unlikely a
political purge of other officials not implicated
in the "criminal case". Both Chens were dealt with
as individual "corruption cases" with no political
purges.
The editorial on the next day
said:
Based on the facts made public so
far, the Wang Lijun incident is a serious
political event that has created an adverse
influence both at home and abroad, the death of
Neil Heywood is a serious criminal case
involving the kin and aides of a Party and state
leader, and Bo has seriously violated Party
discipline.
Observers have stated that
the handling of related events has demonstrated
the Party's willingness to strictly enforce
Party discipline and law, as well as improve
supervision of leading officials. … No one
should leave it to chance that they can take
advantage of power to seek personal gain without
being punished. In this sense, the investigation
into Bo's disciplinary violations can be
interpreted as a move to better supervise the
use of power.
The last editorial, on
April 18, has a straightforward title: "Criminal
Case Shall Not Be Interpreted As Political
Struggle". It said:
Chinese central authorities and
relevant departments have paid great attention
to the death of British national Neil Heywood,
and police have set up a team to reinvestigate
the case according to law and seek truth from
facts. …
Reinvestigation results show
that the existing evidence indicates that
Heywood died of homicide, of which Bo Gu Kailai
and Zhang Xiaojun (the orderly at Bo's home) are
highly suspected.
… Heywood's case is a
criminal case and is being handled according to
law, as it would be in any other country under
the rule of law. … The homicide was
alleged by former Chongqing police chief Wang
Lijun who entered, without authorization, the
US. general consulate in Chengdu on Feb 6.
After the death of Heywood and the Wang
Lijun incident, the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of China (CPC) decided to
investigate Bo Xilai for serious discipline
violations. … The Wang Lijun incident, the
death of Heywood and Bo's discipline violations
have had an extremely negative impact. The
timely and proper decision by the CPC Central
Committee to investigate the case safeguards the
sanctity of law and reflects the firm resolution
of the CPC Central Committee to adhere to the
rule of law.
The criminal case shall not
be interpreted as a political struggle. China's
development will not be hindered by these
separate incidents, and the overall state of the
country will not be affected by human influence.
… It will be better for those who are viewing
the situation with a certain amount of bias to
wait it out, as the truth of the matter will
come out after the investigation is
completed.
Clearly, Xinhua is
authorized to dispatch these editorials to explain
the CCP's position on dealing with Bo's case. They
deliver a strong message that the party does not
want to escalate Bo's dismissal into a political
purge of officials who used to support Bo or work
closely with him. A good example is Chongqing
mayor Huang Qifan, who has worked closely with Bo
in past four years to create the "Chongqing Model"
and whose capability Bo appreciated very much.
As such, Huang would have been a major
target had there been a political purge. But Huang
still remains in office after Bo's removal. Some
senior officials and PLA generals rumored to be in
trouble have also made their public appearances
recently. The People's Daily, the CCP's flagship
newspaper, played down Bo's role in Chongqing's
development, saying "achievements in Chongqing
have been made collectively". Its sister
publication Global Times further said on April 19
that "any individual's influence [in Chongqing[
should not be over-estimated".
It may be
also naive to think Bo's former political "allies"
would continue to support him after his removal
unless they want to commit political suicide.
After all in politics, there is no such thing as
genuine "friendship" - only interests are
permanent.
But "no power struggle" does
not mean there is no political maneuvering. Bo had
been tipped to be promoted into the Politburo
Standing Committee at the 18th party congress. His
fall now leaves a vacancy for other possible
candidates to compete. The jockeying is going on
in calm waters. It is also certain that while
there is no political purge, that political future
of those who are deemed to be too close to Bo
won't be so bright.
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