Opinion | Bo Xilai case exposes challenges of a modernising China

Bo Xilai will soon face trial for corruption under the glare of the international media spotlight. Late last month, China's Communist Party formally expelled him after an internal investigation and turned him over to the judicial authorities for criminal prosecution.

Across the country, government departments are holding up Bo's case for study. We can only hope that it will have a positive, far-reaching impact on the fight against corruption and act as a deterrent to other officials.

According to the official investigation, Bo shared many of the traits of corrupt officials. He abused his power for private gain; he took bribes, as did his family members; he had extramarital affairs with numerous women. And like the other cases, corruption became a Bo family affair and proved to be no barrier in his steady rise to power.

Sure, there was an element of chance in his exposure. But his downfall, and that of others before him, really has its seeds in a flaw of the system: as a top party cadre, Bo's powers were not subject to effective checks.

Despite the similarities, Bo was unique in one important way - he was skilled in public relations. He knew how to manipulate public opinion and successfully distinguished himself as a populist, "politically correct" leader.

This was especially apparent during his term as party secretary of Chongqing. There, he promoted the revival of a "red" culture - including the singing of revolutionary songs - to demonstrate his revolutionary spirit. He portrayed himself as a people-loving, crime-fighting hero, and invested government policies with political meaning. Central government policy initiatives were turned into his largesse to the people to encourage gratitude and idolatry. There was even a song dedicated to him, in discomfiting shades of Cultural Revolution fervour.