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A file picture showing Bo Xilai in court during his corruption trial four years ago. Photo: AFP

Praise for Bo Xilai in Chongqing as city faces fresh graft probe

Bo was jailed for life on corruption charges, but many residents in Chongqing look back fondly on his term as city chief as one of his successors is also accused of corruption

Bo Xilai

It does not take much to find people who still talk in reverential terms about Bo Xilai, Chongqing’s incarcerated and disgraced former Communist Party head who was removed from office more than five years ago.

By contrast, it is difficult to find anyone who has similar regard for Sun Zhengcai, who lost the same party job earlier this month after he was accused by Beijing of failing to rid the city of Bo’s influence and legacy.

People in this metropolis of 30 million remember Bo fondly as a can-do leader who improved law and order, turbo-charged the economy, and rejuvenated dilapidated old city quarters.

“Bo did a great job with law and order in the city,” said Tan Heping, one of the city’s dwindling number of bangbang, or “stick men”, who carry loads on bamboo poles up and down the city’s steep hillsides. “Sun is nowhere near as impressive, he is far from what Bo Xilai was. I can’t see what he has done.”

Both Bo and Sun were removed in the months ahead of the gathering of senior leaders at the Chinese Communist Party National Congress, which is held every five years and ratifies major leadership changes.

Sun took over in Chongqing in November 2012 from leading party official Zhang Dejiang, who held the position for just eight months after Bo’s departure.

At the 2012 congress, Xi Jinping was confirmed as China’s national leader. At this autumn’s congress he is widely expected to consolidate his power by moving supporters into key leadership positions, and as a result have a greater say in any succession planning.

The telegenic Bo, regarded widely as one of the most charismatic Chinese politicians of his generation, was a contender for the top leadership before he was felled for corruption in a sensational 2012 scandal that also saw his wife jailed for murdering a British businessman.

Bo’s popularity, ruthlessly ambitious behaviour and individualistic streak had been seen among senior officials as a potential threat to the central leadership.
A view of Chongqing’s skyline. Photo: Reuters

Marrying his overt Western-style retail politician charm with a Mao-era propaganda strategy, Bo had bypassed Communist Party messaging to build his own brand. Tapping into public anger at official corruption, he espoused a return to simpler, more traditional Chinese values and organised mass rallies of tens of thousands singing patriotic revolutionary-era songs amid a sea of red flags.

And with police chief and right-hand man Wang Lijun, he launched a high-profile campaign against Chongqing’s deep-rooted organised crime rings.

There are no polls to consult, but on a recent trip to the city about a dozen people, from shopkeepers and labourers to coal mine owners and lawyers, all said they were still positive about Bo’s reign.

The Chongqing government and the State Council Information Office, which doubles as the Communist Party’s spokesman’s office, did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

“Bo was doing things for us ordinary people, things that you can see,” said Wu Hong, a clothing wholesaler.

To be sure, there are some in Chongqing who strongly disagree.

Li Zhuang, a Chongqing lawyer and vehement Bo critic who was jailed for 2½ years after defending suspected mafia bosses, said Bo and Wang’s purported organised crime sweep resulted in “large numbers of unjust and false charges” and led to a shakedown of many legitimate and innocent business people. Li, who was contacted by phone, said Sun had done nothing to overturn the verdicts of those he believes were wronged.
Former Communist Party boss in Chongqing, Sun Zhengcai, faces a corruption probe. Photo: Reuters

But for local coal boss Jin Yihu, even incarceration at the height of Bo’s crackdown against organised crime in 2011 has failed to dent his admiration.

A dispute over the mine’s ownership saw a business rival report Jin to police, claiming he was a mob boss. Jin spent seven months in detention before his name was cleared.

“Even then I don’t hate him [Bo],” Jin said. “To compare Bo and Sun is to compare heaven and earth.”

In what turned out to be an ominous signal for Sun, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the party’s anti-corruption watchdog, said in February that Chongqing had failed to rid itself of the “pernicious influence” of Bo.

The commission announced on Monday that Sun had been formally placed under investigation for “serious violations of discipline”, a party euphemism that usually refers to corruption.

Bo received a life sentence in 2013 after he was found guilty of bribery, abuse of power and embezzlement. Wang was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2012 on mostly similar charges.

Bo’s downfall – and President Xi Jinping’s tight grip on power – has seen provincial leaders take a much more conservative approach while jockeying for promotion, lest they also be seen as political threats or step out of line.

Sun’s conservative leadership style in Chongqing, analysts say, may have been compounded by a belief that he just needed to bide his time, stay low-key and avoid any major accidents.
Bo Xilai pictured before his disgrace. Photo: Reuters

But Sun’s esoteric signature plan to rezone the city into five “functional areas” including an urban core and ecological conservation zone, failed to resonate with many people.

“It’s impractical and hollow,” said Zhou Litai, a local lawyer.

Sun’s risk aversion was evident in a crackdown on coal mining in the city after a mine explosion last October killed 33 and made national headlines.

The Chongqing government responded by forcing all coal mines producing less than 90,000 tonnes a year to halt production, closing 181 mines across the city, according to state media reports. Industry sources said production remains halted.

Some mine owners say the government reaction was excessive.

Coal mine owner Jin said all those affected were under severe financial distress and that most of his company’s 300 employees had been given leave of absence.

Sun’s replacement as Chongqing’s party boss, Chen Miner, has lost no time in urging city officials to rid the city of the ideas of Bo and his former police chief.

“Resolutely eliminate the evil legacy of Bo and Wang thought from thinking, politics and work style,” the official Chongqing Daily reported him as saying last week.

Official provincial newspapers across the country carried front page stories on Wednesday saying their respective provincial governments had held meetings which “resolutely upheld” the party’s decision to investigate Sun.

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