Beijing
(AsiaNews) - For the first time in months, ex Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai (pictured left) appears linked with the
murder of businessman Neil Heywood, killed by Bo's wife Gu Kailai in November
of last year.
Xinhua
published
a detailed account of the recent trial against Wang Lijun (pictured right). The ex Chongqing police chief said he told Bo that
his wife was under suspicion for the Heywood murder. Bo responded by slapping
him in the face. Xinhua however did
not mention Bo but identified him as the "main person responsible"
for the Chongqing Communist party committee, which Bo headed.
That slap
appears to have produced a change in Wang Lijun. Until then, he had covered up
for Gu Kailai, and concealed the evidence of her role in the murder.
After the
humiliating experience, he asked his colleagues to reopen the case and brought
out the evidence, including the victim's blood, and all the signs of poisoning.
He also produced Gu's confession, which he secretly recorded a day after the
murder.
Fearing for his
life, Wang sought political asylum in February at the US consulate in Chengdu. Eventually,
Chinese police, which had surrounded the consulate, convinced him to surrender.
Mr Wang made
allegations about Mr Heywood's death whilst at the US consulate. This led, shortly
thereafter, to Mr Bo's resignation, and the trial against his wife and four
police officers who covered up the murder.
Wang Lijun too
was arrested and put on trial for, among various charges, dereliction of duty
by seeking asylum in the consulate.
The Xinhua account repeatedly slammed him
for causing a negative impact at home and abroad.
Gu Kailai was
sentenced to death
in August, but the sentence was suspended for two years. Four police
agents were also
tried in August. Wang's trial instead was held last
Monday and Tuesday.
So
far, Bo Xilai had not been linked to the affair in any of the trials. Once a
princeling with aspirations for a position in the Politburo central committee,
his saga, full of intrigue, corruption, sudden changes, betrayals and murder
has caused one of the worse crises for China's Communist party, badly undermining
its credibility.
Perhaps because
of this crisis, the date of the upcoming party congress has not been announced yet.
Major changes at the top are expected, but now that Bo's name has been indirectly
linked to the affair, many expect him to be put on trial because, as Xinhua put it, the law applies to
everybody.
Until recently,
after his forced resignation as Chongqing party chief, Bo had been subjected to
an internal inquiry for violating party discipline.
