China’s leaders try to move beyond Bo Xilai scandal

BEIJING — By expelling renegade Politburo member Bo Xilai from the Communist Party and referring him for prosecution on offenses including bribery and sexual misconduct, China’s leadership took decisive action to conclude a six-month scandal that shook the top echelons of power.

Even though the struggle over Mr. Bo’s fate took place largely behind closed doors, the damage is apparent. And it is far from clear that a new generation of leaders to be anointed at a party congress now set to begin Nov. 8 will find it easy to put it behind.

The congress, widely anticipated in October, was apparently pushed back amid discord among party elders over how to deal with Mr. Bo, 63, a charismatic figure who had been a top contender for a leadership post. For many Chinese nostalgic about communism as it existed before China’s reform and opening, he remains a hero.

But Friday’s announcements in state-run media left little doubt about his fate. Mr. Bo “received huge bribes personally and through his family … and maintained improper sexual relationships with a number of women,” the official New China News agency said.

Mr. Bo “abused his power and made severe mistakes” covering up for his wife, Gu Kailai, who was convicted of murdering an Englishman, Neil Heywood, in a bizarre poisoning plot, the statement added. Mr. Bo’s behavior “badly undermined the reputation of the party and the country, created very negative impact at home and abroad and significantly damaged the cause of the party and people.”

The aggressive move against Mr. Bo is not without peril, however. The accusations he faces about abuse of power and keeping mistresses are actions widely thought to be commonplace among officials.

“Airing all this dirty laundry is really risky for the party. They are playing with fire,” said Patrick Chovanec, an economist and political analyst at Beijing’s Tsinghua University. “The more they focus on corruption … people might walk away with the message that this behavior is the rule rather than the exception.”

Mr. Bo, who was party chief in the city of Chongqing until March, still has many followers within the upper tiers of power and among ordinary people. Thanks to his Cultural Revolution-style crackdown on crime and efforts to revive revolutionary singing and dancing, many admirers regard him as the latter-day incarnation of Mao Zedong.