Wang Lijun’s face is displayed large on (some of) China’s front pages today with the news that the former vice-mayor and police chief of Chongqing has been charged with four crimes: using the law for personal gain (徇私枉法), defection (叛逃), abuse of power (滥用职权) and bribery (受贿). As the Daily Sunshine (晶报) from Shenzhen reports, the charges have been laid by the public prosecutor in Sichuan, Chengdu province, according to legal proceedings instituted by a court in the city.
Yet interestingly, the new developments in the Wang Lijun case has prominently been reported today only by southern newspapers, mostly from Guangdong; the Beijing and Shanghai papers seem to have sidestepped the story.
As the Daily Sunshine continues, the defendant has been informed of the charges against him and has been allowed to appoint a counsel to act as his defense. The indictment drawn up against Wang includes that he was fully aware of Bo Gu Kailai’s murder of Neil Heywood yet protected Bo Xilai’s wife from prosecution.
In what might be a clear indication of how the trial is going to end, the Daily Sunshine article ends with a sober judgement: The facts of the defendant Wang Lijun’s aforementioned crimes are clear, and the evidence is obvious and sufficient. His criminal responsibility [for the four crimes] will be investigated according to the law.
The gallery below shows more southern papers that carried the Wang Lijun story on their front pages today.
Links and sources
Daily Sunshine (王立军被诉四宗罪)
More Front Page of the Day stories on Danwei