The wife of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai and a family aide have been charged on Thursday with the murder of a British businessman, according to the government, pushing ahead a case at the center of a chaotic political scandal that uncovered divisions in China’s leadership. According to Xinhua News Agency, Bo’s wife, Gu Kailai, had a dispute with Briton Neil Heywood over money and worried that it would threaten her and their son’s safety. Gu and the family aide, Zhang Xiaojun, allegedly poisoned Heywood together, the report said. Initially, Heywood’s November death was attributed to a heart attack or excessive drinking.
The news agency said Gu and Zhang were charged in the eastern city of Hefei. The murder scandal has exposed inside conflict that China’s secretive leadership prefers to hide and affirmed an already skeptical public’s dim view about corrupt dealings in the Communist Party. Before Bo’s ouster, he was one of China’s most powerful and charismatic politicians. As the son of a revolutionary veteran, Bo was seen as a leading candidate for a position later this year in the Politburo Standing Committee, the highest ranks of power.
