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| China's prime minister Wen Jiabao has promised reforms to stop abuse of power. Photograph: Yves Logghe/AP |
Chinese
premier Wen Jiabao has promised tougher curbs on corruption and abuse of power,
state media reported on Sunday, as officials sought to limit the political
fallout from the scandal surrounding former Chongqing party chief Bo Xilai.
Bo's wife,
Gu Kailai, and a family employee are detained on suspicion of murdering Briton
Neil Heywood. Bo has been suspended from powerful party positions while he is
investigated. Official media also hinted this weekend that he too could face
criminal charges, referring to possible breaches of law.
In an
article for Communist party journal Seeking Truth, Wen said regional
governments that allowed "important cases" of corruption or failed to
act quickly would be held responsible. He promised reforms in areas relating to
accountability and said governments should immediately investigate problems
reported by the people and the media.
The party
has repeatedly pledged to step up the fight against corruption.
Analysts
say Bo's case presents top leaders with a dilemma. If they reveal only limited
evidence against him, it may look as if a popular figure has been removed for
political reasons. If the accusations are too shocking, people will ask how he
could have become so powerful – and what other senior leaders may have been
doing.
A separate
piece by Xinhua said the case was "nothing to do with political
struggle".
It warned:
"In some places, there are some practices in which power and personal
favour are put above the law … In some places, there are top officials making
decisions without seeking others' opinions and thus violating the principle of
democratic centralism. The spouses and children of some cadres have taken
advantage of their power to seek personal gains."
In other
cases officials "choose the road of abusing power for personal gains"
because they cannot resist the temptations of the market economy, it said,
adding that the party never tolerated breaches of discipline or the law,
whoever was responsible.
"I
think this is a very serious legitimacy crisis for the party," said
Patricia Thornton, lecturer in politics of China at the University of Oxford.
"As more details of the case come out, I think it will be very, very
difficult to sustain that."
The more
thorough and far-reaching the investigation, the more it would expose the ties
of the party elite to powerful commercial interests, she said.
Bo's case
has been particularly damaging, not merely because of his position but because
he had significant grassroots support and a reputation as someone concerned
about inequality, corruption, and crime, she added.
The South
China Morning Post reported on Sunday that five inspection teams from the
Central Military Commission are investigating links between Bo and senior
officers in the Chengdu military region. He is well known for his ties to the
army.
The deputy
police chief of Chongqing and head of the municipal criminal police team have
also been detained for their roles in the alleged cover-up of the Heywood case,
reports say.
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