The late Great Helmsman Mao Zedong once declared, “Women hold up half the sky.” From a murder mystery ensnaring purged Politburo member Bo Xilai’s wife to death row’s ‘rich sister,’ see photos of Chinese women grabbing headlines.
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The biggest bombshell in China this week? The arrest of Gu Kailai, the attractive and ambitious wife of purged Politburo member Bo Xilai. A pretty, successful lawyer, Gu was so charming she was nicknamed “China’s Jackie Kennedy.” Now she’s behind bars, officially under arrest, along with a family servant, as a suspect in the homicide of Briton Neil Heywood. The 41-year-old Englishman had been on “good terms” with Gu and her son Bo Guagua, but later Gu and Heywood “had disputes over economic interests,” according to state media. Also on Tuesday, Bo—who was sacked as Chongqing Party secretary in March—was suspended from his Politburo post on suspicion of “serious violations of discipline.” Heywood died Nov. 15 in Chongqing of what authorities initially said was “excessive alcohol consumption.” He had told friends he knew Bo and Gu and had helped their flamboyant son Guagua during his schooling at Harrow and Oxford. Heywood’s acquaintances said he was not a heavy drinker; recently the British government asked Beijing to open an inquiry into his death. Now Gu is the focal point of an international murder mystery wrapped in a spectacular political scandal. Bo, a well-connected “princeling” who was jockeying for a top party job in China’s coming succession, fell from grace after his police chief Wang Lijun tried to seek political asylum in the U.S. consulate in Chengdu on Feb. 6, maintaining that he had “detailed evidence” of wrongdoing in the Bo household and that Heywood had been poisoned, informed sources said. Xinhua quoted unnamed senior officials as saying “Whoever has broken the law will be handled in accordance with law...no matter who is involved.” If found guilty of homicide, Gu could be executed.
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For the moment, however, the most famous woman on China’s death row is former entrepreneur Wu Ying, 30, nicknamed “Rich Sister.” She was sentenced to death in 2009 for taking $55.7 million from investors without paying them back. Such crimes may seem routine in the recession-wracked West, but Wu’s verdict ignited heated controversy at home because, albeit illegal, her “shadow banking” practices are commonplace in China, where many small and medium-sized enterprises cannot get proper bank loans. Indeed, an estimated $1.3 trillion in funds is believed to be sloshing around in unregulated “underground” lending and investment networks, economist Ren Xianfang of the consulting firm IHS Global Insight told Bloomberg. This cash reservoir is a key engine for economic growth, and Wu’s case has triggered calls for banking reforms to allow private enterprises greater access to capital. Even Premier Wen Jiabao recently joined the debate saying of Wu’s case, “Chinese companies, especially small ones, need access to funds....Banks have yet to be able to meet those companies’ needs, and there is a massive amount of idle private capital. We need to bring private finance out into the open.” Wu’s lawyer contends she is one of an estimated 42 million Chinese who participate in the underground banking system for loans because many private enterprises cannot get access to capital from state-owned banks. Wu’s 2009 verdict is being reviewed by the Supreme People’s Court, which could decide as early as this month whether she lives or dies.
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Liu Yandong may not be as famous as other headline-grabbing Chinese women, but her low profile belies her high position. As the only woman on the Chinese Communist Party’s 24-person Politburo, Liu is the highest ranking female official in the country. And in terms of concrete promotions, Liu may have the most to gain from Bo Xilai’s stunning fall from grace. Before his purge, Bo had been a strong candidate for the all-powerful nine-person Politburo standing committee when a new generation of leaders takes over in the second half of this year. One slot that might have gone to him was head of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), an advisory body to the parliament that includes many non-communists such as Hong Kong and Taiwan representatives. Liu is also in the running for the next Politburo Standing Committee, and now that Bo’s been knocked out of the running, her chances of success are greater than ever. She’s already vice chairwoman of the CPPCC and has worked closely with non-communists as head of the party’s United Front Work Department. This experience makes her a natural to head the CPPCC when the once-in-a-generation political transition gets into gear.
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Chinese human rights activist Ni Yulan, who is disabled, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for creating a disturbance and fraud. Ni worked in a commercial law firm until 2001, when she took up the cause of Beijing residents forcibly evicted from their homes in the urban makeover campaign prior to the 2008 Olympics. In 2002, she spent 75 days in detention and was badly beaten for 15 hours; her kneecaps and feet were broken, leaving her unable to walk without assistance. She was detained again in 2008, and her home was demolished before her 2010 release, leaving her homeless. Ni has been outspoken about abuses she suffered in detention, where one official urinated on her face and others took away her crutches, forcing her to crawl on the prison floor, even to go to the toilet. When she appeared in court in December, she seemed frail, propped up in a makeshift bed and using a respirator. Rights advocates have criticized the lack of proper judicial process during Ni’s trial and called for her release, especially in light of her poor health.
Andy Wong / AP Photo
