Zhou Yongkang can expect tougher treatment than Bo Xilai: analysts
State secrets claim may be cover to avoid any embarrassment from an open court hearing
Zhou Yongkang , the former security tsar and Politburo Standing Committee member, is likely to face a suspended death sentence, a tougher penalty than the one meted out to disgraced former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai , analysts say.
Announcing yesterday that Zhou had been expelled from the Communist Party and would face prosecution, Xinhua listed six key areas in which he had violated "party and organisational discipline and secrecy".
One of those claims was leaking state secrets, which Beijing-based political commentator Zhang Lifan said could pave the way for a closed trial.
"In China, it's very difficult to define what's a state secret. As a former member of the party's Politburo Standing Committee, anything Zhou unwittingly told anyone around him could be a 'state secret'," Zhang said.
He said the state secrets claim was just an excuse to depart from the open hearings of Bo's trial. Bo was sentenced to life in prison last year on charges of bribery, corruption and abuse of power.
"Bo's open hearing was not good because Bo's public image was not destroyed by it. If Zhou doesn't want to cooperate with the authorities, he could embarrass the central leadership," Zhang said.
Chen Daoyin , from Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, said the state secrets referred to in the statement could be "some internal discussions about an upcoming Politburo personnel reshuffle".