bo xilai was -- it was bo xilai's personal city-state's and stillhawa -- until hayward's death. bo's ambitions to rule the country was an open secret. his wife was like jackie kennedy. he turned up at the u.s. consulate, trading for perfection. >> it has been a one-man dictatorship. one-man, one voice, one message. the party and the media were completely controlled. >> the body was found in this room in this hotel. hayward's death was murder, up a business deal gone wrong. the police chief wanted out. the case was too toxic to handle. the party chiefs were said to be part of the security network. reports suggest a wiretapping regime extended across the city and even the chinese premier was bob. no one is talking. of want to ask -- did a british man die here last year? >> we do not know anything. >> did that actually happen? in the great hall of the people, a carefully choreographed message that the party rule carries on as normal, but beijing acted quickly. the husband was dramatically purged. but it was not just our murder case. there is a second explanation. china is about to a

, bo xilai was the man that used to run this city. they were absolutely terrified, and three of them asked to resign. they didn't want anything to do with this investigation. so the death of neil heywood was apparently covered up from day one. it triggered the downfall of bo xilai, who ran this city, and subsequently the biggest political scandal in china in recent years. >> i feel very much in pain. i have no solution. because even though they're no longer in power, they were in charge of chongqing for four years. their group of associates still had a massive number of people there. they're all in crucial parts of the government, all doing evil. even now, my family is being persecuted by them. my company is persecuted by them. >> i hope one day i can go back to my home and spend time with my family. i hope china will become a democratic country ruled by law, and then i can continue to run my business. people like bo xilai are still around, i don't dare go back. >> well, martin, when you hear what people like lijun there, that busines

>> beyond bo xilai? >> the party is doing everything it can to prevent this from being contagious but that ice the point. it could be. >> rose: you don't know what's there? >> each one of these families has a back story. they have people that they're associated with, they have friends, they've been involved in business and there has always been until now a sort of mutually assured sense of silence. nobody goes after each other's family because you don't want to know where it leads. this case has upset the balance for the moment they're trying to restore the balance, get through this leadership transition in the fall and get back to business. it's going to be hard to do it. >> rose: it's interesting example. the chinese president is scheduled to be the next president. i assume that will take place. >> that's still on track. >> rose: his wife is a singer? >> that's right. she's in a sense the most famous sort of folk patriotic singer in china. a member of the military. >> rose: she's a general as well? >>

bo xilai was headed for the top of chinese politics. but he is also under investigation after a report he tried to defect to america earlier this year. all of this makes for china's biggest political scandal in 20 years. it comes as the country prepares for a once in a decade leadership change. >> this is a political decision by the central leadership to hang bo xilai out to dry with his family, because the whole scandal risks becoming very destabilizing during this year of a leadership change in china. >> the chinese authorities say they have set up a team to reinvestigate neil heywood's death. what happened in the city continues to make waves across the country. bbc news. >> the u.s. secretary of state, hillary clinton, has warned north korea to think twice about a long-range rocket launch. she said it will be a direct threat to their security. >> this launch would give credence to the view that north korean leaders see improved relations with the outside world as a threat to the existence of their system. recent history strongly sugg

neil heywood was priced for his contacts with bo xilai. he is also under investigation after it a police chief tried to defect to the americans earlier this year. all this makes for china's biggest political scandal in 20 years. it comes as the country prepares for a once in a decade leadership change. >> this is a political decision by central leadership to hang him out to dry. with this family. >> the chinese authorities have set up a team to investigate neil heywood's death. what happens in the city continues to make waves across the country. >> to tell us more about what is going on, i am joined the faculty director of the university of chicago's center in beijing. thank you for joining us. has this latest development involving bo xilai and is wife and did his political career? -- ended his political career? >> i think so. in the last 30 years or so, anyone who has been -- has not been able to come back. that is no longer the case. >> he will not be able to make a comeback, what kind of the implications does this scandal have on the co

. >> warner: at the center of the drama, bo xilai, the most senior chinese leader to fall in more than two decades. he was once viewed as a political golden boy. the son of a revolutionary hero, bo moved up the ladder quickly becoming mayor of the coastal economic hub dalian. he thebeomcame cmunist party chief of a southwestern megacity of 30 million, chongqing. there he seized national attention for launching a maoist-style red songs campaign and for a tough anti-corruption campaign that racked up 2,000 arrests. but things started unraveling in early february. when his ally, police chief, wang lijun, was demoted, fled to the u.s. consulate in nearby chengdu, and began talking. up till then, the charismatic bo had been angling for promotion to the party's most elite ruling circle, the politburo's standing committee. instead, on march 15, he was ousted from his chongqing post. meanwhile, rumors spread on chinese social media sites like weibo that police chief wang had implicated bo's wife-- lawyer and businesswoman gu kailai-- the mysterious death last november of a british businessman

search results for bo xilai are blocked on popular blogging sites. so that shows how sensitive this case is for chinese authorities. >> i see. but bo seems to be an astute and popular politician. what is exactly is he being accused of? >> the communist party says bo was involved in a number of serious discipline violations. but it is not clear what exactly those violations are. bo's wife is being investigated for murder. now, the committee reports that bo is suspected of involvement in the same case. there are also allegations of bo amassing a fortune. >> i see. so how is the scandal likely to unfold from here then? >> well, the communist party will hold a convention this fall to select a new leadership. so it will be a time of intense political maneuvering. vice president xi zinpin will be on track to become president of china next year. but other top politicians have yet to be decided. politburo members want to prevent the dramatic downfall bo xilai from deepening rifts within the party. but the case has already created upheaval rarely seen in beiji

the rule of bo xilai was ruthless. thousands were arrested. many businessmen were tortured and forced to hand over their wealth. this man is now in hiding and side of china. he said he was held for 3 months, accused of crimes he did not commit and tortured by bo xilai henchman. he even took this picture after he agreed to pay millions. he fled china. his family was arrested. my brother was tortured for 6 days and nights, he said. he is innocent but they sentenced him to 18 years in prison. he says, there are thousands like him. killedi's the deputy people to silence them. he deserves to die. the death of the british businessman did not seem to bother the communist party. bo xilai spent billions on proper their project and cheap housing for the poor. >> he did great things for the people, this woman says. she still supports him and want to reinstated. >> as you dig down, it seems popularity hads become a threat to the other men at the top of the party. the death of neil heywoiod has opened the door. -- the death of heywood has opened the door.

bo xilai was seen as a potentially divisive candidate for the very highest post. he made enemies. his involvement in scandals sealed his fate. >> top leaders liked bo xilai and his wife could be doing the kind of things they have been accused of, it is quite demoralizing. the second important issue is that it reveals there are revealsfissures in the top leadership. >> by coincidence, tonight, china's most senior woman politician arrived in the u.k. a state councilor. starting her visit in northern ireland, she is very unlikely to be drawn into comment on the current turmoil at home. >> motorsports governing bodies as the formula one grand prix in bahrain will go ahead as scheduled despite continuing unrest. it will saddest -- it was satisfied with the security measures in place for the event. we are joined -- they are happy with the way to go ahead? >> so it seems. they had to make a decision sooner or later. the race is nine days away. it seems they have been speaking to authorities in bahrain. the release did pretty lengthy statement a few hours ago. based on the current informa

bo xilai and his deputies kill them.e deserves to die. >> the apparent disregard for the law did not seem to bother the communist party. bo xilai was faded as a rising star -- feted as a rising star. he did great things for the people, this woman says, who support him and want him reinstated. popularity xilai's had become a threat to the other great men at the top of the communist party, and the death of neil hayward has provided the opportunity to bring him down. will china now reopen not just knew he would -- not just neil hayward's case, but hundreds more? this man says he is afraid to come back until china has the rule of law and democracy. many say they are victims and wait for the day they will seek justice. in damascus, bbc news. >> you are watching bbc news, america. still to come, one indian man uses the internet for an incredible reunion. breaking records is familiar territory for british adventurer sarah keegan. she became the first woman to row across the indian ocean. now she has her sights set on a more cha

he was very close to this man, bo xilai, a rising political star. in the comments come at the foreign secretary is accused of reacting far too slowly to the changing stories from china. william hakes insist that is not the case. >> -- william hague insist that is not the case. >> the chinese authorities have agreed to conduct an investigation. >> the message is unusually blunt. by insisting the chinese investigation into his death must be free from political interference and must expose the truth, it seems to be suggesting that it has real fears that the precise opposite could be the outcome. the truth, whatever it is, may be the casualty because it is the power struggle within the communist party that dictates the story. bo xilai was brought crashing down very deliberately by opponents of his populism. >> his opponents tend to favor a greater role for the private sector in the economy. as opposed to greater police powers. >> there is another reason the truth may never be known. within a few days, his body had been cremated in china. there is no pos

and bo xilai, he met his political demise, clearly. the backdrop to all this is clearly a major struggle taking place in the chinese leadership over the composition of the new leadership that will emerge from the party congress in the autumn, and secondly, over the policies to be pursued by that new leadership. >> do you see it in the same terms, the terms of the power struggle? >> yes, it reflects the fact that it -- that the chinese communist party within itself has always had factions. but this is quite interesting. >> is the ideological or is it just about naked power? >> if i had to venture, i would say naked power. sure, bo xilai was associated with a lot more moves towards a state led investment model. he was sort of popular in the sense that he was talking about an era of more equality. lot of times people miss that because of the high levels of inequality. however, if you strip it back, he clearly is somebody that was a rising star, but at the same time, the last time i was in china it became clear that most policy makers knew

>> he was a free-booting western businessmen who knew bo xilai when he was mayor of dallian and before he moved to chongqing, the largest city in the world. and i think he became friends with gu kailai, who is bo

bo xilai was associated with more of the leftist group. premier who is considered to be the more liberal member of the leadership has been more aggressive with pushes his ideas. also, there could be backlash from the leftist. you have to remember that. >> i see. >> a very popular politician because he focused on real eaches that people care about, such as corruption. and they are very powerful issues and they could easily make a comeback as well. >> and here we're looking at perhaps more corruption. gentlemen, thank you very much. good conversation. we'll continue to follow this story, to say the least, intriguing. see you soon. thank you. >>> if you're worried about the recent market downturn, here's something that could be a recent silver lining. >>> plus, we want your responses to the question of the day. should the so-called death tax be repealed? send us a tweet. more responses when we come back. back in a moment. >>> i'm jon fortt and this is tech check. makeup is generally pretty low tech. but retailer sephora is trying a 20-store p

we're talking about agextraordinary about bo xilai who was up for the politburo, a prominent communistder. his bif gu kailai, both of them descendents of leading is revolutionaries. these were the elite of the elite in china. tell us what you've learned. >> well, i mean what seems to have happened is we've had an unparalleled look into the inner workings into the communist party of china that would like us to think that everythinging is smooth and done by consensus. it looks like when they go for infighting they really go for infighting. this started back in march when a man called wangly june went into the u.s. consulate in a city not far away and we're not exactly sure what happened there but he certainly, this started the process that ended up with us seeing bo xilai kicked off the sanding committee of the party and now this bizarre case of whether or not his wife and his aides were involved in the murder of a british businessman. >> and we should point out that the u.s. had the opportunity then but did not grant him asylum. the decision seems to have been just before the very impor

it is a major embarrassment because it comes so soon after the boesky like -- bo xilai affair, whre bo xilai's chief security person took refuge in the american embassy. it is a no-win for america, because it will reinforce the view among many chinese conspiracists who think america wants to destabilize china. >> so much so that the state department spokesperson did not even say the man's name. mr. obama tried to sidestep questions about this. washington seemed to be as embarrassed as beijing potentially is. >> secretary clinton and secretary geithner are set to arrive in beijing on wednesday. you have two days at most for them to try to resolve this in a sensible way from both sides. if they do not, it is likely to dominate these highly sensitive discussions or the next couple of days. -- these highly-sensitive discussions for the next couple of days. >> we have no word from the chinese government officials. what do you think their reaction is? >> beijing would like nothing better than to go on with business as usual, focus on the economic, security, and foreign- policy issues as part

bo xilai's case. many people will see that. >> pelley: we're just about out of time but richard mcgregor, do you think there is a... is this exposing a larger split between real factions or is this just one rogue party guy who got out of step? >> i think that's the key point. we all... china has been moving institutionalizing how to hand over power which communist societies are very... systems are very, very bad at. they looked like they did it ten years ago, they look like they're able to do it this time. >> warner: this fall. >> this fall. but whether they can is an open question. also a question whether something like this will make the party close up and become less transparent than ever or whether reformers, as we're reporting tomorrow, want to sort of constitutionalize the system, make it more open, put up more candidates for the jobs and try to make it more democratic. not the u.s. sense, of course, but neral. >> warner: well, it will be fascinating to watch. richard mcgregor and xiao qiang, th

communist party boss bo xilai. accused of corruption. >> undoubtedly the largest political earthquake to hit the chinese leadership in the last 20 years. >> reporter: and his wife, suspected of arranging the murder of a british businessman neil haywood who worked with her husband and may have been her lover. haywood found dead at this hotel and was cremated within hours before an autopsy could take place. the british government is even being accused of letting china cover up the case. >> we did offer to hold an investigation. >> reporter: it is a stunning downfall for a power couple who traced their roots to the early leaders of the communist party. >> the public started to question, well, if bo xilai who was a corruption-fighting, gang-busting son of a revolutionary hero, is this corrupt, what does it say about the rest of our top leadership snrz >> reporter: adding to the scandal, the couple's son. educated at tony british schools, now at harvard's kennedy school. scandalizing the family with playboy lifestyle. >

. >> reporter: the chinese nicknamed bo xilai a "princling," which means one of the most powerful menchina. now he's called "criminal" in a case that is part soap opera, part murder mystery. in a stunning late-night announcement this week, bo was dumped from china's politburo, the powerful committee that runs the country. his glamorous wife, gu kailai, has been arrested for the murder of neil heywood, a british man found dead in a hotel room last november. at the time, chinese police said he died of alcohol poisoning, although his family said he didn't drink. now heywood and gu are said to have had a falling out over shared business ventures. few other details are known, but the scandal has engulfed china's top leadership that prizes secrecy above all else. when we met bo more than a decade ago, he was the appointed mayor of a northern city and already marked as a rising star. >> reporter: from there, he moved on to become party boss in chongqing, a city of 30 million and one of the fastest growing cities in the world. billions of dollars of foreign investment poured in from companies

. >> reporter: haywood the enter of a murder investigation that has brought down bo xilai. ewed bo more than a decade ago when he was the mayor of a coastal city and already considered a fast rising political star. >> it's a hot job. >> reporter: bo xilai was destined to become one of china's top leaders. bo was party boss in chongqing, a fast-growing city of 30 million. last week a state tv announcement said he had been stripped from all his posts. his wife, gu kailai is under arrest as leading suspect in the heywood murder and reuters is reporting heywood may have been killed am a dispute over his cut in illicitly moving what was called a large sum of money out of gu. as if all of this isn't sorted enough, attention is shifting to the party, high living style of their son, educated at oxford and a master student at havb ard university. his facebook page details nights of women and alcohol, but doesn't answer how the son of a party official who makes a modest income can live like the child of royalty. all of this has become a political earthquake for the communist party. em