Chinese party boss pleads for unity amid Bo Xilai row

A SENIOR Chinese leader embroiled in China’s biggest political scandal in years has called for Communist party unity in a People’s Daily article.

The editorial signed by Zhou Yongkang in the ruling party’s main newspaper yesterday urges legal officials to closely follow policies set by president Hu Jintao. “Let us unify even more closely around the party centre with comrade Hu Jintao as general secretary,” he writes.

The lengthy article repeatedly mentions Mr Hu’s signature “scientific development” doctrine setting a course for rapid social and economic development under strict Communist rule.

Mr Zhou, the party’s security boss and one its highest ranking officials, wields enormous influence over the police and paramilitary forces charged with maintaining order at a time of growing unrest over corruption and uneven development.

Yet his authority has come under questions about his ties to former party official Bo Xilai, who was toppled over a scandal involving his wife’s alleged participation in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. While unlikely to face charges or be forced to resign, Mr Zhou risks seeing his influence diminish sharply ahead of a transition to younger leaders.

Mr Bo has been dismissed as party boss of Chongqing and suspended from the Politburo. His wife, Gu Kailai, and a household aide have been named as suspects in the murder.