Bo Xilai Political Scandal

Neil Heywood's death has serious
consequences for China's leaders

The death of a British businessman, Neil Heywood is causing earthquakes in Chinese politics. Heywood was close to one of China’s most powerful men, Bo Xilai, a possible future leader of China. Until now. When Mr Heywood died in November last year, the cause of the death was given as alcohol poisoning. No autopsy was ever performed and his body was later cremated. Alarm bells started ringing when friends described him as “not a serious drinker”.

In the months that followed, a Chinese police chief fled to an American embassy claiming foul play in the Heywood case. Since this, Bo Xilai’s wife, Gu, has been arrested, strongly suspected of being involved in Mr Heywood’s murder.

The Heywood scandal combined with the upheaval of Wang Lijun incident have resulted in China’s greatest political scandal in over two decades. Xilai’s downfall comes just as a leadership change is about to occur, if it had not been for Xilai’s downfall he could well have been made leader. Xilai was viewed as the leader of the more extreme left of the Communist Party. With Xilai gone, the next leader will likely be a more pro-market communist. 

The West should pay close attention to what happens to China over the next few months, whoever replaces Hu Jintao as leader will have control over the emerging super power and can take the country forward or backwards.