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Key Figure in Scandal That Felled Bo Xilai Is Charged Key Figure in Scandal That Felled Bo Xilai Is Charged
(about 2 hours later)
BEIJING — A once powerful Chongqing police official at the center of the scandal that felled the senior Communist leader Bo Xilai was charged with defection, abuse of power and corruption, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday. BEIJING — The once-powerful police officer at the center of a scandal that felled the senior Communist leader Bo Xilai was charged Wednesday with defection, abuse of power and corruption.
The police official, Wang Lijun, who had served as police chief and vice mayor of the southwestern city-state of Chongqing under Mr. Bo’s leadership, set off the scandal when he fled to an American consulate in China earlier this year. He revealed to American officials details of the killing of a British businessman connected to Mr. Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, before leaving the consulate and being taken into Chinese custody. Ms. Gu was recently convicted of the killing. The charges against Wang Lijun, the former police chief and vice mayor of the southwestern city-state of Chongqing, stemmed from his flight in February to the United States Consulate in Chengdu, where he told American diplomats that Mr. Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, had murdered a British businessman, Neil Heywood.
Mr. Bo was not mentioned in the Xinhua report, suggesting the possibility that he will not be formally linked to Mr. Wang’s crimes. Instead, the report said that Mr. Wang helped Ms. Gu, although it did not specify how. The allegations eventually leaked and Mr. Bo, the Chongqing party secretary and a Politburo member, fell from power. His whereabouts are unknown, and he has not been charged with any wrongdoing. His wife was recently convicted of poisoning Mr. Heywood.
The report did say, however, that Mr. Wang abused power by illegally snooping on people as part of a campaign against organized crime in Chongqing. Human rights groups say the crackdown was arbitrary and many innocent people were convicted. If Mr. Wang is charged with this, however, it could be hard to shield Mr. Bo, who took credit for the crime sweep. As in the case against Ms. Gu, the way the charges were laid out against Mr. Wang suggests to some analysts that Mr. Bo may be treated relatively leniently, though his fate remains uncertain. He was not mentioned in the official Xinhua news agency report, possibly implying that he might not be linked to Mr. Wang’s crimes.
The charges against Mr. Wang are part of a slow but steady mopping up operation to clear away the remnants of the scandal ahead of a key Communist Party congress expected in the next six weeks that will usher in a new group of leaders in the first leadership transition in a decade. “For the sake of party unanimity — because Bo has strong backers — Hu Jintao has decided to treat him lightly,” said Willy Lam, a Chinese political analyst who teaches at the Chinese University in Hong Kong. “They want to treat Bo leniently.” (Mr. Hu is the departing Chinese president, but he is expected to retain influence, possibly by remaining as head of the military council that supervises the People’s Liberation Army.)
Mr. Wang seems to have escaped being charged with the more serious crime of treason, which often results in the death penalty. Ms. Gu received a suspended death sentence, which is tantamount to life in prison.
Separately, four top police officials who served under Mr. Wang were convicted of aiding the cover-up, although the courtroom proceedings raised more questions than they answered.
Wednesday’s announcement is part of a slow but steady mopping-up operation ahead of a crucial Communist Party congress expected to take place next month. At the conclave, a new group of leaders will formally be granted the authority to take control of the country, the first such transition in a decade.
“Beijing had to clean it up before the 18th Party Congress,” said Li Datong, a well-known Chinese journalist and political commentator. “It can’t leave this administration’s affair for the next administration.”“Beijing had to clean it up before the 18th Party Congress,” said Li Datong, a well-known Chinese journalist and political commentator. “It can’t leave this administration’s affair for the next administration.”

Jonathan Ansfield contributed reporting and Patrick Zuo contributed research.

The report said that Mr. Wang bent the law to help Ms. Gu cover up her crime, although it did not specify how.
The report also contended that Mr. Wang abused power by illegally snooping on people. Sources have said the tech-savvy Mr. Wang wiretapped a wide range of people, including top government leaders, with Mr. Bo’s approval.
Lawyers and businesspeople also say many innocent people were convicted as part of a campaign against organized crime in Chongqing. Some think this charge will make it hard to entirely shield Mr. Bo, who took credit for the crime sweep.
Li Weidong, a political commentator in Beijing, said that the charges against Mr. Wang open the door for the government to criminally charge Mr. Bo and possibly redress some allegations of abuses of power in Chongqing.
“If they say that Wang Lijun committed so many crimes and Bo Xilai did not commit any, no one will believe it,” Mr. Li said. “Over all, this means that the chances of Bo facing criminal prosecution are growing. He was Bo Xilai’s main aide after all.”
But Mr. Li projected that Wang would face a jail sentence of more than 20 years or possibly life in prison. The charges of bribery and abuses of power also indicated that corruption cases in Chongqing could be redressed, he said.
Documents circulated internally in the spring regarding the case fingered Mr. Wang for treason but also credited him for exposing Mr. Heywood’s murder. But there were no such positive points for Mr. Wang in the news report of the indictment. This indicated that the party’s assessment of the case had evolved as leaders negotiate ahead of the congress, Mr. Li added.
He also noted that the party had yet to announce Mr. Wang’s expulsion from the party, as it often does in cases when party members are indicted. He did not rule out that Mr. Wang might have already been expelled internally.
The case is to be tried in Chengdu; a date was not announced. Mr. Wang fled after clashing with Mr. Bo in early February over Ms. Gu’s crime, according to inside reports that are not part of the government’s public case. Mr. Bo then sidelined Mr. Wang, perhaps hoping to silence him, but that move prompted Mr. Wang to drive to Chengdu and enter the United States Consulate there.
Mr. Wang stayed about 24 hours and was arrested when he exited the building. It is not clear what he hoped to achieve by fleeing to the consulate, although the American diplomats are thought to have forwarded Mr. Wang’s information about Mr. Heywood’s murder to their British counterparts and the allegations eventually became public.
Previously, the two men had been tightly linked. Mr. Wang had been known as a martial-arts expert who helped Mr. Bo crack down on crime in another province. Mr. Bo brought him to Chongqing to take on the city’s notorious mafias.
The effort was part of a high-profile campaign by Mr. Bo to improve his chances during the coming leadership transition, during which President Hu will first step down from his party post and then retire from his government position, handing over the reins to Vice President Xi Jinping.

Patrick Zuo contributed research.