Wang Lijun incident
| Wang Lijun incident | |||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 王立軍事件 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 王立军事件 | ||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Wáng Lìjūn Shìjiàn |
The Wang Lijun incident is a major Chinese political scandal which began in February 2012 when Wang Lijun, vice-mayor of Chongqing, was abruptly demoted, after revealing to the United States consulate details of British businessman Neil Heywood's murder and subsequent cover-up. Amidst rumors of political infighting with Chongqing Communist Party secretary Bo Xilai, Wang arranged a meeting on 6 February at the US consulate in Chengdu, where he remained for over 30 hours. Observers speculated that Wang may have been attempting to defect or to seek refuge from Bo. He then left the consulate of his own volition and was taken to Beijing by agents and the vice minister Qiu Jin (邱进) of the Ministry of State Security. The Chongqing municipal government declared that Wang was receiving "vacation-style medical treatment".
The scandal led to the abrupt end to the political career of Bo Xilai, who was seen as a top contender for a top leadership position at the 18th Party Congress in 2012. In the scandal's aftermath, Bo was dismissed from his position of Chongqing party chief, removed from the Politburo, and eventually charged with corruption and abuse of power. The scandal dealt a significant blow to the credibility of the "Chongqing model" and the "red culture movement" promoted by Bo.
Wang Lijun was a police officer from northeastern China. Wang became acquainted with Bo Xilai during their time in Liaoning province, when Wang was a local police chief, and Bo was Governor. Wang had long built a reputation for himself as a 'gangbuster' in Liaoning law enforcement circles. Bo Xilai, an ambitious politician in the elite of the Communist Party, was also the son of Communist revolutionary elder Bo Yibo. In 2007, in a party leadership reshuffle, Bo Xilai was transferred from his post as Minister of Commerce in Beijing to become the Communist Party Secretary of Chongqing, an interior megacity with administrative status equivalent to a province. Wang followed closely in Bo's footsteps. Wang became the police chief of Chongqing and later also vice-mayor.
It was widely known in Chinese political circles that Bo Xilai took on the party chief job in Chongqing with some reluctance. Bo had long been regarded as a political star destined for higher office, and his relocation to Chongqing felt like somewhat of a 'banishment' to many observers. Bo, however, spearheaded a large number of populist campaigns in Chongqing, seemingly using the interior megacity as a launchpad for a protracted high-profile campaign to gain support for a seat on the Politburo Standing Committee, the pinnacle of power in the Chinese political universe.
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