The Rise and Fall of the House of Bo is a shocking and revelatory exposé of Chinas most controversial statesman Bo Xilai, by journalist John Garnaut, available exclusively as a digital-only Penguin Special.
When news of the murder trial of prominent Communist Party leader Bo Xilais wife reached Western attention, it was apparent that, as with many events in the secretive upper echelons of Chinese politics, there was more to the story. Now, as the Partys 18th National Congress oversees the biggest leadership transition in decades, and installs the Bo familys long-time rival Xi Jinping as president, Chinas rulers are finding it increasingly difficult to keep their poisonous internal divisions behind closed doors.
Bo Xilais breathtaking fall from grace is an extraordinary tale of excess, murder, defection, political purges and ideological clashes going back to Mao himself, as the princeling sons of the revolutionary heroes ascend to control of the Party. China watcher John Garnaut examines how Bos stellar rise through the ranks troubled his more reformist peers, as he revived anti-capitalist roader sentiment, even while his family and associates enjoyed the more open economys opportunities. Amid fears his imminent elevation to the powerful Standing Committee was leading China towards another destructive Cultural Revolution, have his opponents seized their chance to destroy Bo and what he stood for? The trigger was his wife Gu Kailais apparently paranoid murder of an English family friend, which exposed the corruption and brutality of Bos outwardly successful administration of the massive city of Chongqing. It also led to the one of the highest-level attempted defections in Communist Chinas history when Bos right-hand man, police chief Wang Lijun, tried to escape the ruins of his sponsors reputation.
Garnaut explains how this incredible glimpse into the very personal power struggles within the CCP exposes the myth of the unified one-party state. With China approaching super-power status, todays leadership shuffle may set the tone for international relations for decades. Here, Garnaut reveals a particularly Chinese spin on the old adage that the personal is political.
His insight is unique and well applied to this extraordinary, intergenerational set of events that Hollywood couldnt dream up if it tried ABC Sydney
John Garnaut is China correspondent for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, in the Fairfax Media stable, and also writes for Foreign Policy magazine. He joined Fairfax in 2002 as an economics journalist after working as a commercial lawyer. His work on China has been recognised with several awards, including the 2009 Walkley Award for Scoop of the Year, for reporting the detention of Australian Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu. John lived in Beijing for two years in the 1980s, while his father was posted as the Australian ambassador, and returned there with his wife and children in 2007.