Hero to zero

By: Kassy Sangster

In February, Wang Lijin a former respected police chief of Chongqing, was sentenced to 15 years of jail for defecting, abusing his power, taking bribes and 'bending the law for selfish means'.
 This light sentence likely surprised most chinese citizens. When the case was being deliberated on citizens actually got a chance to comment on his case, as not all versions on Wang's name were censored, and most believed that Wang Lijin would receive a lifetime in jail or the death sentence. While the commentors were cautious about being able to speak, there was an opportunity to see that the people were confused with what he was being sentenced with as well (link).
 Now that he has been convicted of his crimes (which he didn't attempt to defend himself against), it serves to wonder what advantage China got from not giving Wang Lijin more time or sentencing him to death. That answer lies in his reason for being charged in the first place, Wang Lijin taken from being a hero of China to a traitor when Wang Lijin defected to a US consulate
. He would not have defected without good reason, and that reason was that he had tried to help a powerful offical named Bo Xilai's wife Bogu Kailai cover up a murder. Bo Xilai was previously a member of the communist party of China before Wang Lijin confessed to everything that they had been doing. By offering to help identify other criminals, Wang Lijin reduced his sentence and this may encourage other crooked individuals to give up their bosses in the future.
 Now China is looking at Bo Xilai to be an example on how they are taking down corruption in their ranks (link). Will this make the communist party more solid? Only time can tell