Bo Xilai supporters set up new political party despite 'ban'

Supporters of disgraced senior politician Bo Xilai, have set up a political party in a direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party's de facto ban on new political groups.

The Zhi Xian Party, meaning "the constitution is the supreme authority" party, was formed on Wednesday, just three days before the third plenum.

It named Bo, who has been jailed for corruption, as "chairman for life", said Wang Zheng, one of the party's founders and an associate professor of international trade at the Beijing Institute of Economics and Management.

"This is not illegal under Chinese law. It is legal and reasonable," Wang said.

In an open letter posted on the internet, Wang said she was an "ordinary" college teacher who had never met Bo, but was inspired by him and impressed by his self-defence in court.

Wang told the Post she had not been harassed by the authorities since she posted the open letter on Thursday.