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 Since early 2012, the downfall of a man considered a rising star in China's Communist Party has become one of the country's most closely watched political scandals. Blending allegations of murder, espionage, sex, and corruption, the veritable soap opera unfolded in the final months of Hu Jintao's premiership, creating an unwanted distraction as leading figures haggled for influence in the team to lead China for the next 10 years.- (Image Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
 It begins in late 2011. Briton Neil Heywood is found dead in a hotel room in Chongqing, a municipality in southwestern China. Authorities later rule the cause of death was alcohol poisoning and his body is cremated. Heywood had been working as a business consultant in China for more than a decade. His death did not receive widespread attention until rumors of Bo Xilai's alleged involvement arise a few months later.- (Image Credit: STF/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
 Bo Xilai's right-hand man, Chongqing police chief and deputy mayor, Wang Lijun flees to the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu. He stays one night before leaving "of his own volition" with Chinese security forces, according to the U.S. State Department. The Chongqing government releases a statement saying Wang has gone on medical leave for stress. He's put on trial in September of the same year for abuse of power, defection, taking bribes, and bending the law for personal gain. He is sentenced to 15 years in jail.- (Image Credit: FENG LI/GETTY IMAGES)
 At the annual National People's Congress meeting, Bo Xilai speaks out at a press conference, dismissing allegations against him and his family as "sheer rubbish." "A few people have been pouring filth on Chongqing and me and my family," he says. He also disputes accusations of largesse, fanned by Western media reports his son, Bo Guagua, drove a Ferrari.- (Image Credit: FENG LI/GETTY IMAGES)
 The state-run Xinhua news service announces Bo Xilai has been stripped of his post as party secretary of Chongqing.- (Image Credit: AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
 Xinhua announces Bo's wife Gu Kailai and family employee Zhang Xiaojun have been "transferred to judicial authorities on [the] suspected crime of intentional homicide" in relation to Heywood's death. The same day, Xinhua reports Bo has been suspended of his membership in the party's Politburo and the Central Committee -- the nation's ruling bodies -- because of suspected "serious breach of regulations."- (Image Credit: 7. AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
 A graduate student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Bo Xilai's son, Bo Guagua, makes his first public statement in the university's newspaper. The 24-year-old denies rumors that he was living a playboy lifestyle while studying abroad but declines to comment on the ongoing investigation into his parents.- (Image Credit: GETTY IMAGES)
 British Foreign Secretary William Hague announces Heywood "was not an employee of the British Government in any capacity," in response to intense speculation about the businessman's ties to senior Chinese officials. It follows the release of a statement by the British Foreign Office confirming it had formally asked China in March to open a new inquiry into Heywood's death.- (Image Credit: SANDRA MU/GETTY IMAGES)
 French architect, Patrick Devillers, believed to be a close associate of Bo's wife Gu Kailai, is arrested at his home by local police in the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh, at China's request. Cambodian police later say Devillers, 52, flew from Cambodia to China on July 17 of his own accord to assist Chinese authorities with their investigation into Gu. Devillers denies any wrongdoing.- (Image Credit: TANG CHHIN SOTHY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
 Gu Kailai and family aide Zhang Xiaojun are charged with "intentional homicide" and will be prosecuted in the Hefei municipal court in Anhui province, Xinhua reports. On August 20, the court finds Gu Kailai guilty of murdering Neil Heywood. She receives a suspended death sentence, which is expected to be commuted to life in prison if she does not commit crimes within two years. Zhang is also found guilty of murder and sentenced to nine years in prison.- (Image Credit: REUTERS/LANDOV)
 The Communist Party expels Bo Xilai from its ranks and removes him from public office for various party and legal violations, including abuse of power, accepting bribes, and improper sexual relationships, Xinhua reports. Bo also "bore major responsibility in the Wang Lijun incident and the intentional homicide case of Bogu Kailai." His case is transferred to the judiciary for prosecution.- (Image Credit: MARK RALSTON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/FILE)
 Bo Xilai is indicted on criminal charges of bribery, embezzlement and abuse of power, Xinhua reports. According to his indictment papers, Bo took advantage of his position as a civil servant to seek financial gain for others in exchange for an "extremely large amount" of money and property. A trial date is later set for August 22.- (Image Credit: FENG LI/GETTY IMAGES)
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Gu Kailai, wife of former politician Bo Xilai, is set to stand trial over the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. Photograph: Reuters
Gu Kailai poses near the northeastern city of Dalian in June 1997, in a photo provided to The Wall Street Journal.
Bo Xilai's son Bo Guagua has 'enrolled at Columbia Law School’
On Feb. 28, 2010, Wang Lijun and other five people were rewarded as heroes of Chongqing, because they made significant contributions on crime crackdown.
In 2009, Bo condoled to the members of polices that crack downed the gangs, Chongqing.
In 2008, Bo Xilai served as secretary of Chongqing Municipal Party Committee.
In 2001, Bo said goodbye to Dalian people when he served as the governor of Liaoning province.
In 1996, as the mayor of Dalian, Bo Xilai introduced the whole picture of Dalian to the media. Photo: Agencies
Bo Xilai and his wife Gu Kailai, and son Bo Guagua. Photo: Fenghua
Driven by fears over the growth of the elderly population and gender imbalance, the Chinese government put an end to the decades-old one-child policy in 2016, allowing couples to have two children. Th
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