Punishment in Bo Xilai affair to be announced soon: sources

Sources claim Bo Xilai may be able to escape "severe punishment." The same cannot be said for his wife. (Photo/CFP)

The fates of disgraced former Chongqing Communist Party chief Bo Xilai, his wife Gu Kailai and former Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun will soon be finalized, reports the South China Morning Post, a Hong Kong-based English language newspaper.

The Bo Xilai scandal, the biggest political storm to hit China in a generation, may finally be drawing to a close. According to sources who attended a recent briefing in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen, Bo, who has been detained by the party for "serious discipline violations," may be able to escape severe punishment. His wife, however, who was arrested on suspicion of murdering British businessman Neil Heywood, is not likely to be so fortunate.

Wang, who was Bo's "enforcer" during their widely publicized anti-corruption crackdown in Chongqing, may escape the death penalty for turning whistleblower against the couple, the sources added.

The South China Morning Post reported that the briefing allegedly took place in a secluded guesthouse in Shenzhen and was attended by senior executives of major mainland enterprises and Hong Kong institutions. Attendees were informed of the central government's latest views on the Bo case.

Sources who attended the briefing said party leaders concluded that Wang had "tried to defect" when he infamously fled to the US consulate in Chengdu in February, allegedly following a falling-out with Bo over Gu's involvement in Heywood's death. While Wang's defection attempt is punishable by death, they said his sentence will be mitigated by his "contributions" in cooperating with authorities to hand over information on Bo and Gu.

The sources added that Gu — who could face the death penalty if convicted of Heywood's murder — is likely to be hit the hardest, while Bo, who was once tipped to rise to the party's upper echelons of power, will be taking "secondary responsibilities."

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that a secret investigation team dispatched from Beijing is currently looking into the massive assets belonging to Bo and his family in Hong Kong, which could still influence the outcome.

Given the international interest in Beijing's findings in the Heywood murder case, and the amount of "destabilizing" gossip and speculation that has erupted on the internet in recent months, it appears that the Chinese government is keen to put the affair behind it as quickly as possible. This haste is also spurred by the upcoming 18th National Congress, to be held this fall, which will shepherd in a new generation of party leaders.

Source: Want China Times

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