思樂書

星期二深夜，共產黨官方宣佈，失寵的政治人物薄熙來被停止所有政治職務，接著他的妻子被指名道姓為一起謀殺案的嫌疑人，這起謀殺案的死者為一名在華英國人。此間情節跌宕，堪稱中國版的《麥克白》。

根據多重領導的党國媒體（譯注：新華社）發表的一條簡短消息，薄熙來“涉嫌嚴重違紀”並且將被正式立案調查。共產黨的中央委員會決定“停止”薄熙來的委員身份，及其在更為核心的政治局中的職務。一個月前，薄熙來從重慶市委書記任上被免職，重慶為中國西南的一個省級市。

同一時間，另一個單獨且更為具體的通報指出，薄熙來的妻子谷開來及一名薄家的勤務人員在英國公民尼爾·伍德的重慶死亡案件中“涉嫌故意殺人犯罪”。

在去年十一月，尼爾·伍德被發現死於重慶的一所賓館里，當局最初認定是由酒精攝入過量導致的。但昨天的通報表示，經過“複查”，其死因為他殺。

該報導指出，谷開來和其子都曾與尼爾·伍德“關係良好”，但因經濟糾紛導致關係惡化。報導還表示，谷開來和一位名叫“張曉軍”的薄家勤務人員都已被移送司法機關。

薄熙來與谷開來的兒子薄瓜瓜，最近被美國的大學錄取并被認為現在身在該大學，他此前就讀于某些英國最為聲名赫赫的私立中學。

今年以前，作為一位受人尊敬的共產主義革命者的兒子，薄熙來似乎一直走在通向最高的領導地位的道路上。在擔任重慶的職位以前，薄熙來曾服務于數個高級職位，包括商務部部長和遼寧省省長。

薄熙來是中國的高級官員中最為濃墨重彩的人物，他公開地培養自己的公眾支持度。他領導了高調而備受爭議的對抗腐敗和有組織犯罪的政治運動，他還對舊時毛澤東主義的口號、歌曲和情感情有獨鍾。

今年二月，圍繞著薄熙來及其家人的這場大戲的第一個公開信號浮現，薄的親密副手王立軍進入成都美國大使館，似為獲得政治庇護，他在美使館逗留了整整一天并隨後被中央政府當局帶走拘留。口風甚緊的美國官方僅僅透露他是“自願”離開美使館的。

三月，在中國的全國人大會議閉幕時，薄熙來成了媒體提問的焦點，并遭到了總理溫家寶嚴厲而隱晦的批評。一天之後，他從重慶市委書記任上被免職。這出大戲使許多重要的疑問甚囂塵上——它意味著影響中國頂層政治的諸多因素間怎樣的微妙平衡？

上一次有薄熙來這樣的級別的領導人被停職已經是六年前的事了，而過去三十年來僅有的一些先例，都沒能為薄熙來指出一條實現任何形式的政治復辟的有效途徑。

但無論在民眾還是在政治圈中，薄熙來確實還有著堅定的支持者。除了那些讓人眼花繚亂的政治活動，薄熙來還被奉為社會福利的提供者，這將造福那些在中國市場化改革中成了被遺忘的一支的大量民眾。薄熙來的支持者們對事態的最新進展的將作何反應，還有待觀察。

由於十年一度的領導集體交班將在今年晚些時候進行，這個時間點是異常地敏感。一向重視保持穩定——或至少保持穩定的表象——的共產黨原希望交班過程能做得比現在平順得多。

Bo Xilai's political demise

Downfall, part two

Apr 11th 2012, 3:03 by T.P. | BEIJING

WITH plot twists worthy of a Chinese version of Macbeth, Communist Party officials announced late Tuesday night that disgraced politician Bo Xilai had been suspended from all his political duties, and named his wife as a suspect in the murder last year of a Briton living in China.

Mr Bo “is suspected of being involved in serious discipline violations” and will be formally investigated, according to a terse report released around 11pm by multiple state- and party-run media outlets. The Communist Party Central Committee had decided to “suspend” Mr Bo’s membership in that body, and in the more elite Political Bureau. A month ago, Mr Bo was removed from his post as party boss in Chongqing, a province-level municipality in south-western China.

A separate and more detailed announcement carried at the same time said that Mr Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, together with a household staffer, was “highly suspected... of intentional homicide” in the death in Chongqing of British businessman Neil Heywood.

When Mr Heywood was found dead in a Chongqing hotel last November, authorities initially determined the cause to be an alcohol overdose. But yesterday’s announcement said that after a “reinvestigation” the case has been deemed a homicide.

The report said that both Gu Kailai and the couple’s son were on “good terms” with Mr Heywood, but that conflicts over economic interests had intensified. Ms Gu and the household staffer, named as Zhang Xiaojun, had already been transferred to judicial authorities, the report said.

The couple’s son, Bo Guagua, is currently enrolled as a university student in America and is thought to be there now. He had previously studied in Britain at some of the nation’s most prestigious private schools.

Until this year, Mr Bo, the son of a revered early Communist revolutionary, seemed on track for advancement to the highest levels of leadership. Before taking up his post in Chongqing, Mr Bo had served in a variety of senior jobs, including Minister of Commerce and governor of Liaoning Province.

He was among the most colourful of senior Chinese leaders, openly cultivating public support. He also spearheaded controversial and high-profile political campaigns against corruption and organised crime, and in favour of old-line Maoist slogans, songs and sensibilities.

The first public sign of high drama surrounding Mr Bo and his family emerged in February, when his close deputy, Wang Lijun, entered the American consulate in Chengdu, the capital of neighbouring Sichuan province, in what appeared to be an attempt at gaining asylum. He spent a full day there before being taken into custody by central-government authorities. Tight-lipped American officials would only say that he left the consulate "voluntarily".

In March, at the close of the annual session of China’s National People’s Congress, Mr Bo was the recipient of public and thinly veiled criticism from the prime minister, Wen Jiabao. A day later, he was removed from his post as leader of Chongqing. The drama has raised important questions about what the case might mean for the delicate equilibrium between the multiple factions at the top tier of Chinese politics. 

It has been six years since a leader of Mr Bo’s stature has been suspended, and the precedents established over the past 30 years suggest Mr Bo has no viable path to any kind of political rehabilitation. 

But he does retain a substantial following, both among the public and within political circles. Beyond his more flamboyant politicking, Mr Bo was appreciated as a provider of social welfare benefits to the masses who have found themselves on the losing end of China’s market reforms, and the reaction of his supporters to the latest developments will be something to watch.

The timing is especially sensitive because of the once-a-decade leadership transition scheduled for later this year. Ever fixated on maintaining stability—or at the very least the appearance of stability—the Communist Party had hoped that the transition process would play out more smoothly than this.