China vows thorough probe into Bo Xilai scandal

Beijing, April 18 (IANS) China has vowed to thoroughly investigate events related to top politician Bo Xilai, a top politician, and his wife who is being linked to the death of a British businessman.

A commentary in the state-run Xinhua news agency said renewed attention has been drawn to the anti-corruption drive of the Communist Party of China (CPC) amid an ongoing investigation of Bo Xilai over serious discipline violations, as well as the transfer of his wife to judicial authorities over suspicions of homicide.

The CPC Central Committee has made "a resolute decision to thoroughly investigate related events and release information in a timely manner, a manifestation of its high sense of responsibility to the causes of the Party and the people", it said.

It said that the move demonstrates the CPC's determination "to safeguard the socialist rule of law, to investigate and handle every discipline violation and never tolerate corruption, in order to ensure the purity of the Party".

Bo Xilai, a rising star on the Chinese political scene, was demoted from the country's powerful Communist Party politburo after police named his wife as a prime suspect in the murder of a British businessman.

Bogu Kailai, whose husband Bo Xilai, 62, had been tipped as a future leader of China, is being investigated over the death of Neil Heywood. He died in November.

Bo was dismissed as party chief of the southwest city of Chongqing last month after its police chief spent over an hour in the city's US consulate in an apparent asylum bid.

The Xinhua commentary said: "Based on the facts made public so far, the...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."

It went on to say that at "a time of profound changes in global, national and intra-Party conditions, the CPC is facing long-term tests in governing the country, in reform and opening up and in developing China's market economy, as well as tests from the external environment".

"The Party is also being confronted with the danger of a slackened spirit, incompetence, divorced relations from the people, inactivity and corruption," the commentary warned.

"...the ruling party has to ensure that power is exercised in an appropriate way. It also has to restrict and supervise its power and conduct the power-wielding process under great scrutiny.

"The process must be kept under supervision because all power belongs to the people and is subject to restriction and supervision by the people. Supervising the use of power means that the entire process must be effectively restricted and supervised. Those in power should be concerned about and held responsible for the results of their usage of power," it added.

The investigation into Bo "itself serves as a declaration to all Party members that no matter what position one holds, Party members shall never place themselves over Party discipline and the law, nor shall they ignore the basic fact that power is conferred by the people and should be exercised for them", the commentary said.

"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," it added.