Bo Xilai (薄熙来; pinyin: Bó Xīlái; pronounced Beuh Shy'ii-lie) (born July 1949) is the current Minister of Commerce of the People's Republic of China. Bo is the son of Bo Yibo, a Communist revolutionary elder, and his rise to fame came from his tenures as the Mayor of the coastal economic hub of Dalian and subsequently the Governor of Liaoning. Bo is a representative figure for China's new generation of leaders who are casual in front of the media, a shift away from the deeply serious focus of Chinese politics. Bo's charisma is known in Mainland China, Hong Kong and abroad, and since his installation as Minister of Commerce has become a political star. His son currently studies politics at Balliol College, Oxford. Image File history File links Bo_Xilai. ... The Ministry of Commerce of the Peoples Republic of China (MOFCOM) is one of the ministries of the State Council of China. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... Shanxi (Chinese: 山西; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Shansi) is a province in the northern part of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ... Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), commonly called Pinyin, is the most common variant of Standard Mandarin romanization system in use. ... 1949 (MCMXLIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1949 calendar). ... The Ministry of Commerce of the Peoples Republic of China (MOFCOM) is one of the ministries of the State Council of China. ... Bo Yibo (1908-2007) Bo Yibo, Chinese: ; pinyin: (February 17, 1908 - January 15, 2007) was a Chinese politician and one of the Eight Immortals of the Communist Party of China. ... Dalian (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Japanese: Dairen; Russian: Далянь, Dalian or Дальний, Dalny) is the governing sub-provincial city in the eastern Liaoning Province of Northeast China. ... The Politics of Liaoning Province in the Peoples Republic of China is structured in a dual party-government system like all other governing institutions in mainland China. ... College name Balliol College Named after John de Balliol Established 1263 Sister College St Johns Master Andrew Graham JCR President Jack Hawkins Undergraduates 403 MCR President Chelsea Payne Graduates 228 Homepage Boatclub Balliol College, founded in 1263, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in...

Early life

A native of Dingrang in Shanxi Province, Bo Xilai was born in July 1949, the son of Bo Yibo (薄一波), one of the Eight Immortals of Communist Party of China. Bo began work in January 1968 and joined the Communist Party of China (CPC) in October 1980. Not to be confused with the neighboring province of Shaanxi Shanxi (Chinese: 山西; pinyin: Shānxī; Wade-Giles: Shan-hsi; Postal System Pinyin: Shansi) is a northern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Bo Yibo (1908-2007) Bo Yibo, Chinese: ; pinyin: (February 17, 1908 - January 15, 2007) was a Chinese politician and one of the Eight Immortals of the Communist Party of China. ... The Eight Immortals were a group of elderly members of the Communist Party of China who held substantial power during the 1980s and 1990s. ... The Communist Party of China (CPC) (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the ruling political party of the Peoples Republic of China, a position guaranteed by the countrys constitution. ...

During the Cultural Revolution, when Bo was 17 years old, he was imprisoned along with members of his family for five years, after which they were placed in a labour camp for another five years. The Gang of Four were officially blamed for the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, prompting their release in 1978. During the Cultural Revolution, Bo's father was imprisoned and tortured for ten years; his mother was beaten to death. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wénhuà dà gémìng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or even simpler, to 文革 wéngé, Cultural Revolution) was a period of social chaos and political anarchy in the Peoples... The Gang of Four (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ) was a group of Communist Party of China leaders in the Peoples Republic of China who were arrested and removed from their positions in 1976, following the death of Mao Zedong, and were primarily blamed for the events of...

Bo worked at the Hardware Repair Factory for the Beijing Second Light Industry Bureau before he was admitted to the Peking University Department of History, majoring in world history, in 1977. He later graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree. In 1982, he graduated from the Postgraduate Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences with a Masters degree. Beijing (Chinese: 北京; pinyin: BÄ›ijÄ«ng; IPA: ;  ), a metropolis in northern China, is the capital of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... A B.A. issused as a certificate Bachelor of Arts (B.A., BA or A.B.), from the Latin Artium Baccalaureus is an undergraduate bachelors degree awarded for either a course or a program in the liberal arts or the sciences, or both. ... The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Simplified Chinese: 中国社会科学院; Traditional Chinese: 中國社會科學院; pinyin: Zhōngguó Shèhuì KÄ“xuéyuàn) is the national academy of the Peoples Republic of China for the social sciences. ...

Political career

Bo then successively worked with the Research Office of the CPC Central Committee Secretariat and CPC Central Committee General Office, and served as deputy secretary and secretary of the Jinxian County Party Committee in Liaoning, Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Party Committee of the Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone, and Secretary of the Jinzhou Prefectural Party Committee in Liaoning, quickly rising through the ranks to become a member of the Standing Committee of the Dalian Municipal CPC Committee, the city's decision making body. He became the Vice-mayor of Dalian in 1990, and deputy secretary of Dalian Municipal Party Committee. Liaoning (Simplified Chinese: 辽宁; Traditional Chinese: 遼寧; pinyin: Liáoníng) is a northeastern province of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Dalian (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Japanese: Dairen; Russian: Далянь, Dalian or Дальний, Dalny) is the governing sub-provincial city in the eastern Liaoning Province of Northeast China. ...

He took up the post of acting Mayor of Dalian in 1992 and then Mayor of Dalian in 1993. The modern city was built upon the colony of Port Arthur during the late Qing Dynasty. He was elected as deputy secretary of CPC Dalian Municipal Committee in June 1995, the city's second-in-charge. In January 1998, he was re-elected mayor of Dalian. And in September 1999, he served as secretary of the CPC Dalian Municipal Committee, the city's number one figure. His term in Dalian was marked by the city's phenomenal growth into a modern metropolis representative of China's economic growth. The Shenyang-Dalian Expressway was built in the early 1990s, becoming China's first expressway. Dalian has since then been known as one of the cleanest cities in China, and has a very good overall reputation. However, Bo's tenure in Dalian has seen the construction of various urban development projects aimed solely at making the city have a better aesthetic appearance. Location within China Lüshun city or Lüshunkou or (literally) Lüshun Port (Simplified Chinese: 旅顺口; Traditional Chinese: 旅順口; Pinyin: , formerly in historic references both Port Arthur and Ryojun, is a town in the southernmost administrative district of Dalian of the Peoples Republic of China. ... This article is about a city. ... A typical expressway in Santa Clara County, California. ...

Bo spent seventeen years in the city of Dalian, thus serving the longest time in a single region among the officials of China. Although his popularity with the people was well-known, he was denied promotion by then President Jiang Zemin. In January 2001, under the pressure of strong public opinion, Bo was transferred to the province as the vice governor, which happened to be equal rank to his municipal position. In the aftermath of the Liaoning 'Mu & Ma' corruption scandal, a major reshuffle of the Liaoning provincial government took place, and Bo was appointed the Acting Governor of Liaoning Province. In January 2003, Bo was elected as Governor of Liaoning at the first session of the tenth Liaoning People's Congress. However, during the same year Bo was denied by the Communist Party Central Committee members a seat in the party's central leadership, citing charges of nepotism against his father. Jiāng Zémín (Traditional Chinese: 江澤民, Simplified Chinese: 江泽民, Hanyu Pinyin: Jiāng Zémín, Wade-Giles: Chiang Tse-min, Cantonese (Jyutping): gong1 zaak6 man4) (born August 17, 1926) was the core of the third generation of Communist Party of China leaders, serving as General Secretary of the Communist... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Nepotism This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Bo oversaw Liaoning's development into one of the most economically strong provinces in China, and unlike his predecessors, was relatively clean in terms of moving public funds and other allegations of corruption. As governor Bo also saw increased attention from the media, which he did a fair job manipulating. Bo used the media to increase investment into Liaoning's urban centers, Shenyang and Dalian. This article is about a city. ... Dalian (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Japanese: Dairen; Russian: Далянь, Dalian or Дальний, Dalny) is the governing sub-provincial city in the eastern Liaoning Province of Northeast China. ...

Minister of Commerce

Hu Jintao succeeded Jiang Zemin in the presidency in late 2003, and ended Bo's 20 years service as a local official and Bo was appointed Minister of Commerce in Wen Jiabao's cabinet, replacing Lu Fuyuan, who had health problems with which he was unable to fulfill his duties. Bo concurrently served as a member of the 16th CPC Central Committee, in reality China's central decision making body. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Wen Jiabao (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Wen Chia-pao) (born September 1942) is the Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Lü Fuyuan (呂福源, October 1945- May 18, 2004) was the first mister of the Ministry of Commerce of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Known for his good looks, articulate speech, open-minded work ethic, and a generally liberal outlook, Bo's phenomenal rise from a municipal official to the Central government has been of great media attention and has since elevated his status to that of a political star. The archetype of a politician Bo presents is seldom seen with a generally serious and conservative leadership in Beijing. He has a reputation of a Kennedy-esque figure, his charisma known to media from the Mainland, Hong Kong, and even abroad.

Bo's term as Minister of Commerce saw the general trend of attracting foreign investment continue. His daily schedule is dominated with receiving foreign guests and dignitaries. He speaks relatively fluent English, having told a not-so-fluent translator to rest for a while as an American delegation's comments were being translated into Chinese. In May 2004 Bo was one of the few hand-picked Ministers to accompany Premier Wen Jiabao on a five-country trip in Europe. Trade policy of the United States toward China has also sparked significant controversy, during which Bo kept a cool head as he headed for talks in Washington. 2004 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December Deaths in May • 28 Gerald Anthony • 27 Umberto Agnelli • 22 Richard Biggs • 20 Len Murray • 17 Tony Randall • 17 Ezzedine Salim • 9 Alan King • 9 Akhmad Kadyrov • 8... Wen Jiabao (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Wen Chia-pao) (born September 1942) is the Premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China. ...

Bo also oversaw the restructuring of the Ministry, whose formation was the result of the amalgamation of the National Economics and Commerce Bureau and the Department of International Trade. Bo sought to balance the amount of attention given to foreign investors and domestic commercial institutions. He began tackling the imbalance from the retail sector, whose recent success was largely owing to foreign companies. He drew out various plans to protect Chinese industries so they would not lose their place inside the Chinese market.

Bo was listed in a class-action lawsuit by a group of Falun Gong practitioners and sympathisers in the United States, who were suing him for crimes against humanity, including allegations of genocide and torture. The lawsuit lacks factual evidence of Bo's alleged crimes, and due to Bo's immense popularity inside China and abroad has failed to gain much attention or grounds for its authenticity. Bo himself states he has never been involved in the persecution. The legal process has since then been dismissed by the district judge in June 2006. Falun Gong enthusiasts continued various other legal measures and their attack on Bo, especially after he became the Minister of Commerce. The accusations has been supported by Bo's political opponents based in Liaoning. In law, a class action is an equitable procedural device used in litigation for determining the rights of and remedies, if any, for large numbers of people whose cases involve common questions of law and fact. ... Falun Gong, (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ; literally Practice of the Wheel of Law) also known as Falun Dafa, (Traditional Chinese: ; Simplified Chinese: ; pinyin: ; lit. ... This article is in need of attention. ... Genocide is the mass killing of a group of people as defined by Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (CPPCG) as any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or... Torture is defined by the United Nations Convention Against Torture as any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he...

External links

• Biography and recent career data at China Vitae, an online biographical database of Chinese VIPs
• (Chinese) Article on Bo Xilai at Peking University's online forum
• USA: Bo Xilai – advocacy group Justice for Falun Gong on the class-action lawsuit
• Alibaba details Bo's charisma