Irregularities Dog Bo Xilai's “Chongqing Model” Anti-Crime Sweep

Since Chongqing’s former Chief of Police Wang Lijun visited the US consulate in Chengdu City on February 6th, speculation has been rife over what he will expose about Bo Xilai, the man responsible for Wang’s rise to power.

Bo and Wang are credited for the "Chongqing Model"—an anti-crime campaign launched in 2009. State-run media highly publicized the gang-busting sweep, hailing the pair as heroes. But concerns soon rose over Bo’s tactics—the charismatic and ambitious ‘princeling’ of the Chinese Communist Party is known for being ruthless in his efforts to ascend to political stardom.

[Professor Zhang Tianliang, NTD Senior China Analyst]:
"People thought that Bo Xilai was fighting with organized crime, but it just turned out that Bo Xilai is fighting with the people who he has special interest with. Like ex-officials because he wants to control the whole bureaucratic system."

This pursuit brought down Chongqing’s then Justice Minister Wen Qiang. Bo and Wang successfully had him tried for corruption, and Wen was swiftly executed in July 2010.

Aside from political opponents, Bo and Wang were also criticized for using the campaign for economic gains.

[Professor Zhang Tianliang, NTD Senior China Analyst]:
"When Bo Xilai launched this political campaign of busting the organized crime, he actually arrested a lot of businessmen, like industrialists. Because, he wanted to confiscate their property and their money and bribe somebody more important; so a lot of such people were put in jail."

The Chongqing Model was known for ignoring due process, with numerous claims that Bo and Wang authorized torture to extract confessions. This video released by the lawyer of an alleged crime syndicate boss details how he was tortured before his execution in September 2010.

[Fan Qihang, Executed Chongqing Crime Boss]:
"For about six months I sat on an iron chair, they called it a torture chair. My feet were cuffed and I was frequently beaten and kicked. They used many ways to extract a confession, twisting my arms back and hanging them on an iron bar, lifting me off the ground—this went on for five days straight."

After helping Bo Xilai investigate thousands of criminals in Chongqing, Wang Lijun now says his life is at risk after a falling out with his former boss. It's not clear what Wang told US officials during the 24 hours he spent at the US consulate, but Chinese state-run media says he’s now under investigation in Beijing for that unofficial visit.