BO's Wife Implicated; Audio in YouTube

choi

My comment:
(a) Latest first.
(b) (1), (3) and (4) are based on report/transcript and/or audio/YouTube, whose authenticity is not confirmed.
(c) HOWEVER, though filed a couple of hours before (1) from BBC, (2) from Reuters appears to have inside dole. (2) Also points to Bo's wife, whereas the other three talk about "family" member.


(1) Michael Bristow, Audio Sheds Light on Sacking of China's Bo Xilai. BBC (English), Mar 20, 2012 (10:49 ET; 5 hours 45 min ago)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-17448787

Quote:

"The audio recording, which was posted on the internet, seems to have involved senior officials in the western city of Chongqing. They heard how the city's police chief, Wang Lijun, told Mr Bo in January that his family was being investigated. The politician apparently reacted angrily and demoted Mr Wang, disregarding established practices.

"It is difficult to verify the authenticity of the recording - or how it was made and why it was released.

"Many might wonder, though, whether this is the whole story, as this version of events is convenient for a party that likes to show it plays by the book. This narrative suggests Mr Bo's demise has more to do with wrongdoing than political manoeuvring at the top.

"Meanwhile, it is unclear what has now happened to Mr Bo - and whether he is under investigation because of this alleged interference in the investigation into his family.

(2) Chris Buckley, China Official Account Ties Toppled Bo to Police Inquiry - Sources. Reuters, Mar 20, 2012 (7:32 pm

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest ... ce-inquiry-sources/

(3) Barbara Demick, China Puts a Stop to Maoist Revival. China, fearing a repeat of Mao's Cultural Revolution, has cracked down on Maoist websites and revolutionary songs and speeches after a scandal in Chongqing.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nati ... na-maoists-20120320,0,7022815.story

Quote:

"In the latest political tumult in China, it is the Maoists who find themselves in trouble. * * * A public park in Chongqing where retirees sang and twirled to patriotic anthems while waving red flags posted a notice saying the music was now banned because it disturbed the neighborhood.

"'This can't be coincidence,' said Sima Nan, a scholar and former TV host whose home in Beijing opens into a foyer decorated with a large bust of Mao next to a smaller one of Lenin.

Leftist websites last Friday "experienced technical problems, silencing critics of Wen's words and helping nip in the bud any public demonstrations in support of Bo. A few demonstrators appeared Monday at Chaotianmen Square with a red banner that read, 'Chairman Bo, the people of Chongqing miss you.' They were spirited away by Chongqing police within minutes and a photograph of the demonstration was quickly deleted from websites in China.

"The opaque nature of the Chinese Communist Party makes it difficult to determine whether the crackdown is an attempt to weaken Bo and his base, or whether it reflects a deeper ideological divide within the party's leadership.

"Employees [of the Utopia website] on Monday [Mar 19] refused to speak to foreign reporters. A manager of the website said, however, that staffers were in the process of getting it back online but were deleting some content posted over the last few days.

My comment:
(a) What is important is the following two paragraphs in the LA article, which I assume is a draft (for tomorrow's print), rather than in today's print.

"The report, purportedly by the party central governing office, also said, 'This is a very serious incident which has brought negative attention domestically and internationally.... Wang Lijun is directly responsible. Bo Xilai as party secretary takes overall responsibility as a leader.'

"A 25-minute recording of the report being read aloud by an official with a Chongqing accent was also posted on YouTube. Its authenticity could not be confirmed.

(b) The "report" here is probably identical to the "transcript" in the AP. See (4) below. And the "YouTube" piece here is one and the same as "audio" in (1) above.
(c) I am in the Boston Public Library, whose computer terminals can not read foreign langugaes. I can not find the YouTube piece when the search terms are in English. I can only find one that pointedly mentions the piece.

CCP's Internal Notice On Wang Lijun Case. YouTube.com, uploaded by ChinaForbiddenNews on Mar 19, 2012 (4:22 in length).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HwziuM6lzY

ChinaForbiddenNews is a program of NTDTV (affiliated with Falun Gong0.


(4) Christopher Bodeen, Bo Xilai Accused of Meddling in Probe of Family Member Before Ouster by Chinese Leaders. Associated Press, Mar 19, 2012 (07:40:57 PM PDT)
http://www.times-standard.com/ci ... -sacking-tied-probe

Quote:

(a) "a transcript of remarks by an unnamed official from the Communist Party’s General Office that have circulated on the Internet say that Bo tried to sideline Wang in late January after Wang informed him of an investigation into one of Bo’s relatives. The relative was not identified. * * * The General Office remarks, said to have been delivered orally to leading officials last week, were released Tuesday mostly on websites outside China, including the usually reliable dwnews.com and Boxun.com. They said that Bo was 'displeased' with Wang because of the investigation, and transferred him to a post overseeing education, science and other less sensitive matters in violation of a rule requiring him to first notify the Ministry of Public Security in Beijing. Fearing for his safety, Wang entered the U.S. Consulate in the nearby city of Chengdu on Feb. 6 and submitted a written request for asylum, according to the remarks.

(b) "Government and party spokesmen in Beijing and Chongqing did not immediately respond to faxed requests to verify the authenticity of the leaked transcript.

"In a sign of the sensitivity of the matter, search requests for Bo Xilai and Wang Lijun were blocked on the Internet inside China, which is strictly monitored by government censors. In some cases, people have gotten around the blocks and posted the reports on social media sites.

My comment:
(a) PDT: Pacific Daylight Time
(b) It is unclear to me that in quotation (a), who the "they" are in the sentence "They said that Bo was 'displeased.'" Gramatically "they" should allude to "websites outside China." But from the context, "they" should be "it," referring to "General Office"--in my view.