title: Pablo Aimar

text: The club's failures were soon forgotten, however, as Valencia completed a league and UEFA Cup double the following season. Despite making more than 30 appearances for the season and playing an influential role in the club's UEFA Cup triumph, Aimar was sidelined for large parts of the season in what was to set an injury-plagued tone to his career.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: Following a breakdown between Benítez and Valencia's sporting director Jesús García Pitarch, the former left his position at the club and was replaced by Italian manager Claudio Ranieri for the 2004–05 season. A combination of injury concerns and tactical changes from the manager saw Aimar struggle under Ranieri and found himself being as employed as a substitute more frequently than before. The Italian departed the club in February and was replaced by Antonio López, who in turn was replaced by Quique Sánchez Flores for the following season. With Valencia in decline, Aimar decided to leave the club at the end of the 2005–06 season having amassed over 200 appearances for the club over the course of five-and-a-half seasons.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: In the summer of 2006, Aimar joined fellow top flight club Real Zaragoza on a four-year deal for a reported fee of €11 million, with the club describing the deal as the most important signing in the club's history. At Zaragoza, he was reunited with compatriot and former Valencia teammate Roberto Ayala, who himself had joined the club earlier in the month. Aimar made his league debut on 27 August in a 2–3 away loss against Deportivo de La Coruña and went on to make 32 appearances across all competitions, scoring five goals and helping the club to a sixth-place finish in the league. The following season was a disastrous one for Aimar and Zaragoza as the club, fraught with poor performances and financial mismanagement were relegated from La Liga. Zaragoza's relegation saw Aimar bring an end to his time in Aragon, having made 57 appearances during his two-season stay with the club. During his stint with Zaragoza, he obtained dual-Spanish nationality, having lived in the country since 2001.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: On 17 July 2008, Aimar signed a four-year contract with Portuguese side Benfica for a fee of €6.5 million. After struggling with injuries initially, he finished the campaign with a string of strong performances and was able to add a Taça da Liga title to his name.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: In the 2009–10 season, Aimar was reunited with former River Plate teammate Javier Saviola, who was let go by Real Madrid following his own injury struggles. The two combined as double "trequartista" to support striker Óscar Cardozo alongside fellow Argentine Ángel Di María on the wing. The quartet formed the Primeira Liga's most dangerous attack, with Benfica scoring 78 goals on their way to a league and cup double.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: Aimar had become a fan favourite at the Estádio da Luz but injuries continued to plague him, and his game time reduced in the coming seasons. In spite of this, he helped the club to its third and fourth consecutive Taça da Liga titles. On 6 June 2013, after 179 official appearances, 17 goals and 34 assists, Aimar announced he was leaving Benfica and thanked the club for "five wonderful years".


title: Pablo Aimar

text: On 7 August 2013, Tunku Ismail Ibrahim, the president of Malaysian club Johor Darul Ta'zim, confirmed that Aimar had signed a two-year contract with the team. Upon arrival, he became the highest paid player ever to feature in the Malaysia Super League. He made his debut in the league six months after signing, in a 2–0 win against Perak FA. Prior to making his debut, Aimar had previously played at the Larkin Stadium, home of Johor, before with Argentina in the 1997 Youth World Cup. He ultimately made 8 appearances for the club and scored two goals before a spate of injuries resulted in him being released on 21 April 2014. Aimar did earn a champions medal for his time with "JDT", though, as the club went on to lift the Super League title at the end of the season.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: On 5 January 2015, Aimar returned to River Plate for the club's pre-season training, stating that he would sign with the club only if he could deal with the physical demand after having undergone surgeries to his heel and not having played since leaving Johor Darul Ta’zim in April 2014. On 31 May, he played as substitute in a home win against Rosario Central in the Primera División. Aimar announced his retirement on 14 July 2015 after River Plate coach Marcelo Gallardo informed him that he was not included in the club's squad for the semi-final stage of the Copa Libertadores. Gallardo said Aimar was "suffering" and had struggled with injuries through the pre-season.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: On 16 January 2018, Aimar played in a friendly match for his youth club Estudiantes de Río Cuarto. After the match, he announced that he would be joining the squad ahead of the Copa Argentina fixture against Sportivo Belgrano on 23 January, in order to fulfill his wish of making an official appearance for the club where he began and spent eight years.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: The Copa Argentina match took place at Estudiantes' home stadium "Estadio Ciudad de Río Cuarto". Aimar was picked in the starting line up and wore the captain's armband, coming close to opening the score with a shot that was parried by the goalkeeper, before getting subbed off in the 50th minute. The match ended in a goalless draw, which was not enough to see Estudiantes through the next round after a 2–1 loss in the first leg. His brother Andrés was also in the line-up of Estudiantes. Afterwards, Aimar confirmed that he had no intention of making a definitive comeback and that this was indeed his farewell match from football.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: Aimar first represented Argentina at youth levels. Along with future senior team players Esteban Cambiasso and Juan Román Riquelme he won the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship and went on to earn 52 senior caps following his debut in 1999, scoring eight international goals in total. He represented Argentina at the 1999 and 2007 editions of the Copa América, at the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups, and at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: In the 2002 World Cup, for which he was picked ahead of Riquelme, Aimar appeared against England, subbing in for Juan Sebastián Verón in the 1–0 loss, which led coach Marcelo Bielsa to start him against Sweden at the latter's expense.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: Aimar scored the last goal of the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup during Argentina's 4–1 loss in the final to champions Brazil. He also appeared with the national side in the 2007 Copa América, scoring a goal in a 4–1 win against the United States in his team's opening group match of the competition; Argentina went on to reach the final of the tournament, losing out to Brazil once again, this time 0–3, with Aimar coming on as a second-half substitute for Cambiasso.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: After several months in the sidelines, Aimar received another international callup in October 2009, for decisive 2010 World Cup qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay. In the match against the former he repaid the faith placed in him by coach Diego Maradona, assisting Gonzalo Higuaín for Argentina's opener with a through ball, in an eventual 2–1 win.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: An elegant, technically gifted and creative attacking midfielder with a small frame, Aimar was a right-footed player with a vast array of skills and an eye for goal. He excelled in a free role as an advanced playmaker where he was best able to utilise his dribbling skills, vision and passing ability to create chances for teammates and orchestrate attacking moves. Moreover, he was a free kick specialist. His skills and playing style saw him earn comparisons with Diego Maradona in his youth. Due to his talent and flamboyance, he was given the nicknames "El Payaso" (the clown) and "El Mago" (the wizard) throughout his career. As a youth, compatriot Lionel Messi stated in 2002 that Aimar was one of his biggest influences as a player. In addition to his playing ability, Aimar also drew praise for his leadership qualities; however, despite his talent, he struggled with injuries throughout his career.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: Aimar was appointed as coach of the Argentina national under-17 football team in July 2017. His under-17 team won the South American U-17 Championship in 2019.


title: Pablo Aimar

text: Aimar's younger brother, Andrés, was also a professional footballer and a midfielder. He represented several teams in his country – starting his career at River Plate – also playing for a few months in Israel. In October 2022 Aimar's mother passed away.


title: Mehcad Brooks

text: Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks (born October 25, 1980) is an American actor and former fashion model. He is known for his roles as Matthew Applewhite in the second season of ABC's series "Desperate Housewives" (2005–2006), Jerome in "The Game", his leading role as Terrance "TK" King in the USA series "Necessary Roughness" (2011-2013) and James Olsen in the CBS/The CW series "Supergirl". In 2022, he began his portrayal of NYPD Detective Jalen Shaw on the NBC police procedural drama "Law & Order", with the start of the series' 22nd season.


title: Mehcad Brooks

text: Brooks was born and raised in Austin, Texas, where he attended L.C. Anderson High School. Brooks is the son of "Austin American-Statesman" editorial writer Alberta Phillips and former pro football player Billy Brooks; his stepfather is lawyer Gary Bledsoe. After graduating from high school in 1999, he attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television.


title: Mehcad Brooks

text: Brooks mentioned on a September 2010 episode of "The Wendy Williams Show" that he turned down basketball scholarships and offers from Ivy League schools in favor of going to USC. He then left to pursue an acting career.


title: Mehcad Brooks

text: From 2005 to 2006, Brooks played the role of Matthew Applewhite on the ABC TV drama "Desperate Housewives". He appeared in "Glory Road", portraying Harry Flournoy, an athlete at Texas Western University when the five starting black players beat Kentucky for the national championship. He acted in the 2007 film "In the Valley of Elah". He starred opposite Tia Mowry as her boyfriend, Jerome, on the TV series "The Game" in 2008. In 2009 he appeared on FOX's TV series "Dollhouse". Brooks played Benedict "Eggs" Talley in the second season of HBO's "True Blood". Beginning January 2010, he appeared as attorney Malcolm Bennet in the now-canceled ABC series "The Deep End". He plays the "new boyfriend" in a recent State Farm Insurance television commercial alongside former "The Game" co-star Gabrielle Dennis.


title: Mehcad Brooks

text: Brooks appeared in the ABC documentary-style dramedy television series "My Generation", which premiered in Fall 2010. The show was canceled after only two episodes. He was among the cast on the USA Network series "Necessary Roughness" which debuted on June 29, 2011. The show featured Brooks as Terrence "TK" King, a football player for the New York Hawks whose anger issues cause his team to require him to see therapist. In 2013, "Necessary Roughness" was cancelled. Brooks guest starred in the "" episode as Prince Miller, a basketball superstar who was molested as a child by his coach, and a guest role on J. J. Abrams' show "Alcatraz" as a bomb disposal expert. In 2013, Brooks was featured in a public service announcement for the Center for Reproductive Rights.


title: Mehcad Brooks

text: From the series premiere until his departure in the fourth episode of the fifth season, Brooks played James Olsen on the CBS/The CW drama "Supergirl" as a series regular.


title: Mehcad Brooks

text: In 2019, he was announced to portray Jax Briggs for the "Mortal Kombat" reboot released on April 23, 2021.


title: Mehcad Brooks

text: In June 2022, it was announced that Brooks would be joining the cast of the long-running crime series "Law & Order" as a detective in Season 22.


title: Mehcad Brooks

text: Brooks has stated in an interview with IGN that he is an avid player of video games, including the "Call of Duty", "Medal of Honor", and "Madden" series.


title: Mehcad Brooks

text: His older brother, Billy Brooks IV, was a regular on the now defunct Spill.com and currently guests on its successor Double Toasted.


title: The Second City

text: The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre opened on December 16, 1959, and has since become one of the most influential and prolific comedy theatres in the English-speaking world. In February 2021, ZMC, a private equity investment firm based in Manhattan, purchased the Second City.


title: The Second City

text: The Second City has produced television programs in both Canada and the United States, including "SCTV", "Second City Presents", and "Next Comedy Legend". Since its debut, The Second City has consistently been a starting point for many comedians, award-winning actors, directors, and others in show business, including Del Close, Alan Alda, Alan Arkin, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, John Candy, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles, Mike Myers, Nia Vardalos, Steve Carell, Jordan Peele, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Stephen Colbert, Cecily Strong, Aidy Bryant, and many others.


title: The Second City

text: The Second City chose its self-mocking name from the title of a series of articles about Chicago by A. J. Liebling, published in "The New Yorker" in 1952, and published in book form as a collection the same year. In summer 1955, at The Compass bar in Hyde Park, University of Chicago students, led by David Shepherd and Paul Sills, calling themselves Compass Players, began a "commedia dell'arte", based on professional theater games taught by Viola Spolin, who was Sills's mother. They soon began performing occasional shows on the Near North Side. On December 16, 1959, The Second City's first revue show premiered at 1842 North Wells Street, with Sills' former wife and Compass Player Barbara Harris singing "Everybody’s in the Know". Admission was $1.50. Sahlins and Sills flipped burgers in the kitchen.


title: The Second City

text: Sahlins, Sills, and Howard Alk had founded the theater, in 1959, as a place where scenes and stories were created with improvisation, using techniques that grew out of Spolin's innovative teachings, later known as Theater Games, with Sills as its director. The cabaret theater comedy style of the Second City tended towards satire and commentary of current social norms and political figures and events.


title: The Second City

text: In 1961, the theater sent a cast to Broadway with the musical revue, "From the Second City", directed by Sills and earning Tony Award nominations for ensemble members Severn Darden and Barbara Harris. The company moved a few blocks south, to 1616 North Wells, in 1967. Eventually, the theater expanded to include three touring companies and a second resident company, and now fosters a company devoted to outreach and diversity. The style of comedy has changed with time, but the format has remained constant. Second City revues feature a mix of semi-improvised and scripted scenes, with new material developed during unscripted improv sessions after the second act, where scenes are created based on audience suggestions.


title: The Second City

text: A number of well-known performers began careers as part of the historic troupe, then moved to television and film. In 1973, The Second City opened a theater in Toronto. By the mid-1970s, both venues became a source of cast members for "Saturday Night Live" and "SCTV," which borrowed many of the writing and performing techniques pioneered by The Second City and other improv groups. In 1983, the adjoining e.t.c. theater became the second resident stage at its Old Town, Chicago location, handling overflow crowds and increasing the number of resident company members. Co-founder Bernie Sahlins owned the theater company until 1985, before selling it to Andrew Alexander and Len Stuart.


title: The Second City

text: Along with its theaters, training centers, and television shows, The Second City also produced improv and sketch shows for Norwegian Cruise Line through 2017. In the 2000s, Second City launched productions in regional theaters around the country; revues featured sketches written for and about each location, including Phoenix, Boston, Baltimore, Dallas, and Louisville.


title: The Second City

text: In October 2020, The Second City was put up for sale by Alexander and co-owner D’Arcy Stuart. In January 2021, The Second City and "Saturday Night Live" paired up to launch a new training scholarship for diverse, upcoming talent. In February 2021, ZMC, a New York City-based private equity investment firm, purchased The Second City.


title: The Second City

text: "Second City Television," or "SCTV," was a Canadian television sketch comedy show offshoot from the Toronto troupe of the Second City and ran from 1976 to 1984. Dr. Charles A. "Chuck" Allard (1919–1991), father of Vancouver attorney Peter Allard, formed a partnership in 1981 that acquired the fledgling series, which he then moved from Toronto to Edmonton (where he practiced medicine and had co-founded the Edmonton Oilers as a silent partner with "Wild Bill" Hunter).


title: The Second City

text: The basic premise of "SCTV" was based on a television station in the fictional city of Melonville. Rather than broadcast the usual TV rerun fare, the business, run by the greedy Guy Caballero (Joe Flaherty) sitting in a wheelchair only "for respect," operates a bizarre and humorously incompetent range of cheap local programming. The range included soap opera "The Days of the Week"; game shows, such as "Shoot at the Stars", in which celebrities literally are shot at in similar fashion to targets in a shooting gallery; and movie parodies, such as "Play it Again, Bob" in which Woody Allen (as played by Rick Moranis) attempts to entice Bob Hope (as played by Dave Thomas) to star in his next film. In-house media melodrama was frequently satirized, including by John Candy, as the vain, bloated variety star character, Johnny La Rue; Thomas's acerbic critic, Bill Needle; Andrea Martin's flamboyant, leopard-skin clad station manager, Mrs. Edith Prickley; Catherine O'Hara's alcoholic, narcissistic, former leading-lady, Lola Heatherton; and Flaherty's effusive talk show host, Sammy Maudlin. Martin Short also originated his dorky Ed Grimley character here, which he later brought to "Saturday Night Live".


title: The Second City

text: In 1974, Andrew Alexander took the reins of The Second City Toronto, which had opened in 1972, then formed a partnership with Len Stuart, in 1976, starting The Second City Entertainment Company. Its inaugural television production was "SCTV" that year. Alexander co-developed and executive produced over 185 half-hour shows for the series.


title: The Second City

text: In 1985, Alexander and Stuart acquired Chicago's Second City. He later founded SCTV, thereby expanding The Second City TV & Film Division. He has produced or executive-produced hundreds of Second City revues in Canada and the United States.


title: The Second City

text: On June 6, 2020, during on-going global Black Lives Matter protests, various Second City comedians signed an open letter stating that "erasure, racial discrimination, manipulation, pay inequity, tokenism, monetization of Black culture, and trauma-inducing experiences of Black artists at The Second City will no longer be tolerated". prompting Alexander to apologize and resign, pledging that "The next person to fill the Executive Producer position will be a member of the BIPOC community". Interim executive producer Anthony LeBlanc was appointed to replace him.


title: The Second City

text: On November 25, 2020, The Second City announced that former Dad's Garage Theatre Company artistic director Jon Carr had been hired as executive producer. He stepped down in early 2022, and a successor has yet to be named.


title: The Second City

text: , the Second City has been awarded thirty-seven Equity Joseph Jefferson Awards, which have recognized them for Best Revue five times, the first being "Paradigm Lost" (1997). The revue's director, Mick Napier, is one of several directors recognized by the Jeffs, a list that includes founder Bernard Sahlins (for 1983's "Exit, Pursued by a Bear") and improv guru Del Close (1981's "Miro, Miro on the Wall"). Sixteen alumni have received Jeff Awards for their performances in Second City revues, including David Pasquesi ("The Gods Must Be Lazy", 1989), Scott Adsit ("Paradigm Lost", 1997), Jackie Hoffman ("Disgruntled Employee Picnic", 1993), Shelley Long ("Wellsapoppin", 1977), and Nia Vardalos ("Whitewater for Chocolate", 1994), with Rachel Dratch and Keegan-Michael Key each being honored twice.


title: The Second City

text: In 2009, as the company was celebrating its 50th year, the Second City was awarded an honorary Jeff for the milestone, as well as three awards for the e.t.c.' s 33rd revue "Studs Terkel's Not Working," recognizing director Matt Hovde and actress Amanda Blake Davis and naming it Best Revue. In 2011, the e.t.c.'s 35th revue "Sky's the Limit (Weather Permitting)" won the Jeff for Best New Work (Musical or Revue), as well Best Revue and Best Actor, for ensemble member Tim Baltz. The following year, the e.t.c.'s 36th revue "We're All In This Room Together" won for Best Revue and Best Director of a Revue - Ryan Bernier, while ensemble member Edgar Blackman took home the Jeff for Best Actor/Actress in a Revue for his work in "Who Do We Think We Are?" on the Second City mainstage. In 2013, the Jeff Awards awarded Best Production: Revue to a Second City show not housed at the venue on Wells Street, "The Second City Guide to Opera", a collaboration with the Lyric Opera of Chicago that had been initiated by soprano and Lyric creative consultant Renée Fleming, with Best Director: Revue going to Billy Bungeroth.


title: The Second City

text: Toronto's Second City mainstage troupe has won ten Canadian Comedy Awards: Best Improv Troupe (2001), Best Sketch Troupe (2001, 2006 and 2009), and Best Comedic Play winners "Family Circus Maximus" (2002), "Psychedelicatessen" (2003), "Facebook of Revelations", "Barack to the Future" (2009), "0% Down, 100% Screwed" (2010) and "Something Wicked Awesome This Way Comes" (2011).


title: The Second City

text: Created in 1967 as a way to increase the talent pool, the initial Touring Company, featuring Ramis, Doyle-Murray and Flaherty, was tested on the road for two years before taking the stage as "The Next Generation" after the mainstage ensemble was sent to perform in New York. The Touring Company continued to perform greatest hit shows on the road, and in 1982, with the assistance of producer Joyce Sloane (and without Sahlins's knowledge) they staged an original revue in what would become the theater's second stage, the Second City e.t.c.


title: The Second City

text: In December 2009, the theater celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with a weekend of panels and performance which featured many prominent alumni, including an "SCTV" reunion show starring Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Catherine O'Hara, Harold Ramis, Martin Short, and Dave Thomas. Other notable alumni returning to participate included Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Jeff Garlin, Jack McBrayer, James Belushi, Dan Castellaneta, Amy Sedaris, Ian Gomez, Richard Kind, Robert Klein, Fred Willard, David Rasche, Betty Thomas, and George Wendt, as well as original cast member Mina Kolb, Compass Player Shelley Berman, and co-founder Bernard Sahlins, along with Playwrights Theater Club co-founder Sheldon Patinkin; he later served as assistant director to Paul Sills, then succeeded him as artistic director, spending over five decades as an artistic mentor of the troupe while chairman of the theater department at Columbia College Chicago for three decades.


title: The Second City

text: The Second City Training Center was founded in the mid-1980s to facilitate the growing demand for workshops and instruction from the world-famous Second City theatre. Training Centers are located in Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles. The Training Centers have grown substantially since the Second City Conservatory was established in the mid-1980s under the tutelage of longtime Chicago improv instructors and mentors Martin de Maat and Sheldon Patinkin. The Chicago Training Center has over 5,000 students in several disciplines, including improvisation and comedy writing. Former Training Center students include Steve Carell, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Tim Meadows, Bonnie Hunt, Stephen Colbert, Halle Berry, Sean Hayes, Amy Sedaris, Jon Favreau, Hinton Battle, Jack McBrayer, Dave Foley, and Kevin McDonald. Classes are taught by working professionals, many of whom are current and former Second City performers. In 2007, the Comedy Studies program was created, as a collaboration with Chicago's Columbia College, which provides students with an immersion in "all aspects of the study of comedy and improvisation". In 2016, the Training Center expanded to include the Harold Ramis Film School, dedicated to comedy in filmmaking.


title: The Second City

text: The Second City Training Centers currently operate under the leadership of Kerry Sheehan, President, The Second City Training Centers and Education Programs.


title: The Second City

text: The Second City Detroit was a comedy theatre and training center located in the Detroit suburb Novi, Michigan. It was the Second City's third mainstage theatre in North America following the Second City Chicago and Toronto. Originally established in September 1993 in downtown Detroit, Michigan, the theatre relocated to a strip mall in Novi in 2005, where it remained until it was disbanded in 2009. The original downtown Detroit theater, within the Hockeytown Cafe complex, is now named the City Theater (Detroit), and the Novi location is now named the Andiamo Novi Theatre.


title: The Second City

text: In the early years of the Second City and Game Theater, several parents and Lincoln Park community members—including Carol and Paul Sills and Mona and Dennis Cunningham—started a progressive school for their children, based on Viola Spolin's Theater Games techniques and philosophy with her son Paul Sills' refinements. Theater Games were gaining recognition and are now incorporated in drama therapy, play therapy, and are used as an educational tool. Early Second City and Game Theater members, as well as some Old Town and Lincoln Park community members, were closely involved, including the Sillses and Cunninghams, Viola Spolin, Joyce and Byrne Piven, John Schultz, Mel Spiegel, and Beverly Gold. The highly progressive curriculum included daily theater games, and some students went on to careers in entertainment. Briefly at the original Old Town theater site at the intersection of Clark, Wells, and Lincoln Avenue, the school moved to several locations in Lincoln Park before it closed in the mid-1970s.


title: The Second City

text: In 1971, The Players Workshop was Chicago's only official school of Improvisation for over a decade. Although it was never officially a part of The Second City cabaret theater, The Players Workshop was often referred to as Players Workshop Of The Second City, due to the school's close affiliation with the famous sketch comedy stage.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges within itself and sequentially pushing each one into a position where it may be readily loaded into the barrel chamber by the firearm's moving action. The detachable magazine is sometimes colloquially referred to as a "clip", although this is technically inaccurate since a clip is actually an accessory device used to help load ammunition into a magazine.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: Magazines come in many shapes and sizes, from tubular magazines on lever-action and pump-action firearms that may tandemly hold several rounds, to detachable box and drum magazines for automatic rifles and light machine guns that may hold more than one hundred rounds. Various jurisdictions ban what they define as "high-capacity magazines".


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: With the increased use of semi-automatic and automatic firearms, the detachable magazine became increasingly common. Soon after the adoption of the M1911 pistol, the term "magazine" was settled on by the military and firearms experts, though the term "clip" is often used in its place (though only for detachable magazines, never fixed). The defining difference between clips and magazines is the presence of a feed mechanism in a magazine, typically a spring-loaded follower, which a clip lacks. A magazine has four parts as follows: a spring, a spring follower, a body and a base. A clip may be made of one continuous piece of stamped metal and have no moving parts. Examples of clips are moon clips for revolvers; "stripper" clips such as what is used for military 5.56 ammo, in association with a speedloader; or the "en bloc" clip for M1 Garand rifles, among others. Use of the term "clip" to refer to detachable magazines is a point of strong disagreement.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The earliest firearms were loaded with loose powder and a lead ball, and to fire more than a single shot without reloading required multiple barrels, such as in pepper-box guns, double-barreled rifles, double-barreled shotguns, or multiple chambers, such as in revolvers. Both of these add bulk and weight over a single barrel and a single chamber, however, and many attempts were made to get multiple shots from a single loading of a single barrel through the use of superposed loads. While some early repeaters such as the Kalthoff repeater managed to operate using complex systems with multiple feed sources for ball, powder and primer, easily mass-produced repeating mechanisms did not appear until self-contained cartridges were developed.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The first successful mass-produced repeating weapon to use a "tubular magazine" permanently mounted to the weapon was the Austrian Army's Girandoni air rifle, first produced in 1779.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The first mass-produced repeating firearm was the Volcanic Rifle which used a hollow bullet with the base filled with powder and primer fed into the chamber from a tube called a "magazine" with an integral spring to push the cartridges in to the action, thence to be loaded into the chamber and fired. It was named after a building or room used to store ammunition. The anemic power of the Rocket Ball ammunition used in the Volcanic doomed it to limited popularity..


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The Henry repeating rifle is a lever-action, breech-loading, tubular magazine fed rifle, and was an improved version of the earlier Volcanic rifle. Designed by Benjamin Tyler Henry in 1860, it was one of the first firearms to use self-contained metallic cartridges. The Henry was introduced in 1860 and produced through 1866 in the United States by the New Haven Arms Company. It was adopted in small quantities by the Union in the Civil War and favored for its greater firepower than the standard issue carbine. Many later found their way West and was famed both for its use at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, and being the basis for the iconic Winchester rifle which is still made to this day. The Henry and Winchester rifles would go on to see service with a number of militaries including Turkey. Switzerland and Italy adopted similar designs.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The second magazine-fed firearm to achieve widespread success was the Spencer repeating rifle, which saw service in the American Civil War. The Spencer used a tubular magazine located in the butt of the gun instead of under the barrel and it used new rimfire metallic cartridges. The Spencer was successful, but the rimfire ammunition did occasionally ignite in the magazine tube and destroy the magazine. It could also injure the user.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The new bolt-action rifles began to gain favor with militaries in the 1880s and were often equipped with tubular magazines. The Mauser Model 1871 was originally a single-shot action that added a tubular magazine in its 1884 update. The Norwegian Jarmann M1884 was adopted in 1884 and also used a tubular magazine. The French Lebel Model 1886 rifle also used 8-round tubular magazine.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The military cartridge was evolving as the magazine rifle evolved. Cartridges evolved from large-bore cartridges (.40 caliber/10 mm and larger) to smaller bores that fired lighter, higher-velocity bullets and incorporated new smokeless propellants. The Lebel Model 1886 rifle was the first rifle and cartridge to be designed for use with smokeless powder and used an 8 mm wadcutter-shaped bullet that was drawn from a tubular magazine. This would later become a problem when the Lebel's ammunition was updated to use a more aerodynamic pointed bullet. Modifications had to be made to the centerfire case to prevent the spitzer point from igniting the primer of the next cartridge inline in the magazine through recoil or simply rough handling. This remains a concern with lever-action firearms today.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: Two early box magazine patents were the ones by Rollin White in 1855 and William Harding in 1859. A detachable box magazine was patented in 1864 by the American Robert Wilson. Unlike later box magazines this magazine fed into a tube magazine and was located in the stock of the gun. Another box magazine, closer to the modern type, was patented in Britain (No. 483) by Mowbray Walker, George Henry Money and Francis Little in 1867. James Paris Lee patented a box magazine which held rounds stacked vertically in 1879 and 1882 and it was first adopted by Austria in the form of an 11mm straight-pull bolt-action rifle, the Mannlicher M1886. It also used a cartridge clip which held 5 rounds ready to load into the magazine.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The bolt-action Krag–Jørgensen rifle, designed in Norway in 1886, used a unique rotary magazine that was built into the receiver. Like Lee's box magazine, the rotary magazine held the rounds side-by-side, rather than end-to-end. Like most rotary magazines, it was loaded through a loading gate one round at a time, this one located on the side of the receiver. While reliable, the Krag–Jørgensen's magazine was expensive to produce and slow to reload. It was adopted by only three countries, Denmark in 1889, the United States in 1892, and Norway in 1894.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: A clip (called "chargers" in the United Kingdom) is a device that is used to store multiple rounds of ammunition together as a unit, ready for insertion into the magazine or cylinder of a firearm. This speeds up the process of loading and reloading the firearm as several rounds can be loaded at once, rather than one round being loaded at a time. Several different types of clips exist, most of which are made of inexpensive metal stampings that are designed to be disposable, though they are often re-used.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The first clips used were of the "en bloc" variety, developed by Ferdinand Mannlicher and first adopted by the Austro-Hungarian Army, which would be used Austro-Hungarians during the first world war in the form of the Mannlicher M1895, derivatives of which would be adopted by many national militaries. The Germans used this system for their Model 1888 Commission Rifle, featuring a 5-round "en bloc" clip-fed internal box magazine. One problem with the "en bloc" system is that the firearm cannot be practically used without a ready supply of (mosty disposable) clips. Paul Mauser would solve this problem by introducing a stripper clip that functioned only to assist the user in loading the magazine quickly: it was not required to load the magazine to full capacity. He would continue to make improved models of rifles that took advantage of this new clip design from 1889 through 1898 in various calibers that proved enormously successful, and were adopted by a wide range of national militaries. In 1890 the French adopted the 8mm Lebel Berthier rifles with 3-round internal magazines, fed from "en bloc" clips; the empty clips were pushed from the bottom of the action by the insertion of a loaded clip from the top.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: In the late 1800s there were many short-lived designs, such as the M1895 Lee Navy and Gewehr 1888, eventually replaced by the M1903 Springfield rifle and Gewehr 98 respectively. The Russian Mosin–Nagant, adopted in 1891, was an exception. It was not revolutionary; it was a bolt-action rifle, used a small-bore smokeless powder cartridge, and a fixed box magazine loaded from the top with stripper clips, all of which were features that were used in earlier military rifles. What made the Nagant stand out was that it combined all the earlier features in a form that was to last virtually unchanged from its issue by Russia in 1894 through World War II and with its sniper rifle variants still in use today.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: An interesting feature of many late 19th- and early 20th-century bolt-action rifles was the magazine cut-off, sometimes called a feed interrupter. This was a mechanical device that prevented the rifle from loading a round from the magazine, requiring the shooter to manually load each individual round as he fired, saving the rounds in the magazine for short periods of rapid fire when ordered to use them. Most military authorities that specified them assumed that their riflemen would waste ammunition indiscriminately if allowed to load from the magazine all the time. By the mid-20th century, most manufacturers deleted this feature to save costs and manufacturing time; it is also likely that battlefield experience had proven the futility of this philosophy.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: One of the last new clip-fed, fixed-magazine rifles widely adopted that was not a modification of an earlier rifle was the M1 Garand. The first semi-automatic rifle that was issued in large numbers to the infantry, the Garand was fed by a special eight-round "en bloc" clip. The clip itself was inserted into the rifle's magazine during loading, where it was locked in place. The rounds were fed directly from the clip, with a spring-loaded follower in the rifle pushing the rounds up into feeding position. When empty, the bolt would lock open, and a spring would automatically eject the empty clip with a distinctive pinging sound, leaving the rifle ready to be reloaded. The M14 rifle, which was based on incremental changes to the Garand action, switched to a detachable box magazine. However, the M14 with magazine attached could also be loaded via 5-round stripper-clips.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The Soviet SKS carbine, which entered service in 1945, was something of a stopgap between the semi-automatic service rifles being developed in the period leading up to World War II, and the new assault rifle developed by the Germans. The SKS used a fixed magazine, holding ten rounds and fed by a conventional stripper clip. It was a modification of the earlier AVS-36 rifle, shortened and chambered for the new reduced power 7.62×39mm cartridge. It was rendered obsolete for military use almost immediately by the 1947 introduction of the magazine-fed AK-47 assault rifle, though it remained in service for many years in Soviet Bloc nations alongside the AK-47. The detachable magazine quickly came to dominate post-war military rifle designs.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: Firearms using detachable magazines are made with an opening known as a "magazine well" into which the detachable magazine is inserted. The magazine well locks the magazine in position for feeding cartridges into the chamber of the firearm, and requires a device known as a magazine release to allow the magazine to be separated from the firearm.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The Lee–Metford rifle, developed in 1888, was one of the first rifles to use a detachable box magazine, and the spare one was could be optionally worn on soldier equipment, although with the adoption of the Short Magazine Lee–Enfield Mk I this was became only detachable for cleaning and not swapped to reload the weapon. However, the first completely modern removable box magazine was patented in 1908 by Arthur Savage for the Savage Model 99 (1899), although it was not implemented on the 99 until 1965. Other guns did not adopt all of its features until his patent expired in 1942: It has shoulders to retain cartridges when it is removed from the rifle. It operates reliably with cartridges of different lengths. It is insertable and removable at any time with any number of cartridges. These features allow the operator to reload the gun infrequently, carry magazines rather than loose cartridges, and to easily change the types of cartridges in the field. The magazine is assembled from inexpensive stamped sheet metal. It also includes a crucial safety feature for hunting dangerous game: when empty the follower stops the bolt from engaging the chamber, informing the operator that the gun is empty before any attempt to fire.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The first successful semi-automatic pistol was the Borchardt C-93 (1893) and incorporated detachable box magazines. Nearly all subsequent semiautomatic pistol designs adopted detachable box magazines.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The Swiss Army evaluated the Luger pistol using a detachable box magazine in 7.65×21mm Parabellum and adopted it in 1900 as its standard sidearm. The Luger pistol was accepted by the Imperial German Navy in 1904. This version is known as Pistole 04 (or P.04). In 1908 the German Army adopted the Luger to replace the Reichsrevolver in front-line service. The Pistole 08 (or P.08) was chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum. The P.08 was the usual side arm for German Army personnel in both World Wars.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The M1911 semi-automatic pistol set the standard for most modern handguns and likewise the mechanics of the handgun magazine. In most handguns the magazine follower engages a slide-stop to hold the slide back and keep the firearm out of battery when the magazine is empty and all rounds fired. Upon inserting a loaded magazine, the user depresses the slide stop, throwing the slide forward, stripping a round from the top of the magazine stack and chambering it. In single-action pistols this action keeps the hammer cocked back as the new round is chambered, keeping the gun ready to begin firing again.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: During World War One, detachable box magazines found favor, being used in all manner of firearms, such as pistols, light-machine guns, submachine guns, semi-automatic and automatic rifles. However, after the War to End All Wars, military planners failed to recognize the importance of automatic rifles and detachable box magazine concept, and instead maintained their traditional views and preference for clip-fed bolt-action rifles. As a result, many promising new automatic rifle designs that used detachable box magazines were abandoned.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: As World War II loomed, most of the world's major powers began to develop submachine guns fed by 20- to 40-round detachable box magazines. However, of the major powers, only the United States would adopt a general-issue semi-automatic rifle that used detachable box magazines: the M1 carbine with its 15-round magazines. As the war progressed the Germans developed the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle concept with its 30-round detachable magazine. After WWII, automatic weapons using detachable box magazines were developed and used by all of the world's armies. Today, detachable box magazines are the norm and they are so widely used that they are simply referred to as magazines or "mags" for short.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: All cartridge-based single-barrel firearms designed to fire more than a single shot without reloading require some form of magazine designed to store and feed cartridges to the firearm's action. Magazines come in many shapes and sizes, with the most common type in modern firearms being the detachable box type. Most magazines designed for use with a reciprocating bolt firearm (tube fed firearms being the exception) make use of a set of feed lips which stop the vertical motion of the cartridges out of the magazine but allow one cartridge at a time to be pushed forward (stripped) out of the feed lips by the firearm's bolt into the chamber. Some form of spring and follower combination is almost always used to feed cartridges to the lips which can be located either in the magazine (most removable box magazines) or built into the firearm (fixed box magazines). There are also two distinct styles to feed lips. In a single-feed design the top cartridge touches both lips and is commonly used in single-column box magazines, while a staggered feed magazine (sometimes called double-feed magazine, not to be confused with the firearm malfunction) consists of a wider set of lips so that the second cartridge in line forces the top cartridge against one lip. This design has proven more resistant to jamming in use with double-column magazines. Some magazine types are strongly associated with certain firearm types, such as the fixed "tubular" magazine found on most lever-action rifles and pump-action shotguns. A firearm using detachable magazines may accept a variety of types of magazine, such as the Thompson submachine gun, most variations of which would accept box or drum magazines. Some types of firearm, such as the M249 and other squad automatic weapons, can feed from both magazines and belts.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: Many of the first repeating rifles, particularly lever-action rifles, used magazines that stored cartridges nose-to-end inside of a spring-loaded tube typically running parallel under the barrel, or in the buttstock. Tubular magazines are also commonly used in pump-action shotguns and .22 caliber bolt-action rimfire rifles such as the Marlin Model XT. Tubular magazines and centerfire cartridges with pointed (spitzer) bullets present a safety issue: a pointed bullet may (through the forces of recoil or simply rough handling) strike the next round's primer and ignite that round, or even cause a chain ignition of other rounds, within the magazine. The Winchester '73 used blunt-nosed centerfire cartridges as the .44-40 Winchester. Certain modern rifle cartridges using soft pointed plastic tips have been designed to avoid this problem while improving the aerodynamic qualities of the bullet to match those available in bolt-action designs, thus extending the effective range of lever-actions.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The most popular type of magazine in modern rifles and handguns, a box magazine stores cartridges in a column, either one above the other or in staggered zigzag fashion. This zigzag stack is often identified as a "double-column" or "double-stack" (The double-stack is much more common because of its ability to store more rounds), since a single staggered column is actually two side-by-side vertical columns offset by half of the diameter of a round. As the firearm cycles, cartridges are moved to the top of the magazine by a follower driven by spring compression to either a single-feed position or side-by-side feed positions. Box magazines may be integral to the firearm or removable.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: There are, however, exceptions to these rules. The Lee–Enfield rifle had a detachable box magazine only to facilitate cleaning. The Lee–Enfield magazine did open, permitting rapid unloading of the magazine without having to operate the bolt-action repeatedly to unload the magazine. Others, like the Breda Modello 30, had a fixed protruding magazine that resembled a conventional detachable box but was non-detachable.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The FN P90 and Kel-Tec P50 personal defense weapons use horizontally mounted feeding systems. The magazine sits parallel to the barrel, fitting flush with the top of the receiver, and the ammunition is rotated 90 degrees by a spiral feed ramp before being chambered. The Heckler & Koch G11, an experimental assault rifle that implements caseless ammunition, also functions similarly with the magazine aligned horizontally over the barrel. Rather than being positioned laterally to the barrel like with the aforementioned examples, ammunition is positioned vertically with the bullet facing downward at a 90 degree angle relative to the barrel where it is fed into a rotary chamber before firing. The AR-57, also known as the AR Five-seven, is an upper receiver for the AR-15/M16 rifle lower receiver, firing FN 5.7×28mm rounds from standard FN P90 magazines.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: Another form of box magazine, sometimes referred to as a "quad-column", can hold a large amount of ammunition. It is wider than a standard box magazine, but retains the same length. Casket magazines can be found on the Suomi KP/-31, Hafdasa C-4, Spectre M4, QCW-05 and on 5.45×39mm AK rifle derivatives. Magpul has been granted a patent for a STANAG-compatible casket magazine, and such a magazine was also debuted by SureFire in December 2010, and is now sold as the MAG5-60 and MAG5-100 high capacity magazine (HCM) in 60 and 100 round capacities, respectively, in 5.56mm for AR-15 compatible with M4/M16/AR-15 variants and other firearms that accept STANAG 4179 magazines. Izhmash has also developed a casket magazine for the AK-12.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The rotary (or spool) magazine consists of a cylindrical sprocket actuated by a torsion spring, with cartridges fitting between the tooth bar of the sprocket, which is mounted on a spindle parallel to the bore axis and rotates each round sequentially into the feeding position. Rotary magazines may be fixed or detachable, and are usually of low capacity under ten rounds, depending on the caliber used. John Smith patented a rotary magazine in 1856. Another rotary magazine was produced by Sylvester Roper in 1866 and was also used in the weapons by Anton Spitalsky and the Savage Model 1892. Otto Schönauer first patented a spool magazine in 1886 and his later design, patented in 1900, was used on bolt-action rifles produced at least until 1979, among them Mannlicher–Schönauer adopted by the Greek Army in 1903. The M1941 Johnson rifle also uses a rotary magazine. The design is still used in some modern firearms, most notably the Ruger American series, the semi-automatic Ruger 10/22, the bolt-action Ruger 77/22 and the Steyr SSG 69.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: Drum magazines are used primarily for light machine guns. In one type, a moving partition within a cylindrical chamber forces loose rounds into an exit slot, with the cartridges being stored parallel to the axis of rotation. After loading of the magazine, a wound spring or other mechanism forces the partition against the rounds. In all models a single staggered column is pushed by a follower through a curved path. From there the rounds enter the vertical riser either from a single or dual drums. Cylindrical designs such as rotary and drum magazines allow for larger capacity than box magazines, without growing to excessive length. The downside of a drum magazine's extra capacity is its added weight that, combined with the gun, can affect handling and prolonged use. Drum magazines can be more difficult to incorporate into combat gear compared to more regular, rectangular box magazines.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: Many drum-fed firearms can also load from conventional box magazines, such as the Soviet PPSh-41 submachine gun, RPK light machine gun and the American Thompson submachine gun.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The term "drum" is sometimes applied to a belt box for a belt-fed machine gun, though this is just a case that houses a length of ammunition belt, not a drum magazine.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: Before WWII the Germans developed 75-round saddle-drum magazines for use in their MG 13 and MG 15 machine guns. The MG 34 machine guns could also use saddle-drum magazine when fitted with a special feed cover. The 75 rounds of ammunition were evenly distributed in each side of the magazine with a central feed "tower" where the ammunition is fed to the bolt. The ammunition was fed by a spring force, with rounds alternating from each side of the double drum so that the gun would not become unbalanced.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The pan magazine differs from other circular magazines in that the cartridges are stored perpendicular to the axis of rotation, rather than parallel, and are usually mounted on top of the firearm. This type is used on the Lewis Gun, Vickers K, Bren Gun (only used in anti-aircraft mountings), Degtyaryov light machine gun, and American-180 submachine gun. A highly unusual example was found on the Type 89 machine gun fed from two 45-round quadrant-shaped pan magazines (each magazine had a place for nine 5-round stripper clips).


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: Helical magazines extend the drum magazine design so that rounds follow a spiral path around an auger-shaped rotating follower or "drive member", allowing for large ammunition capacity in a relatively compact package (compared to a regular box magazine of similar capacity). Early helical magazine designs include that patented by an unidentified inventor through the patent agent William Edward Newton in 1857 and the internal magazine of the Evans Repeating Rifle, patented in the late 1860s. This type of magazine is used by the Calico M960, PP-19 Bizon, CS/LS06 and KBP PP90M1. The North Korean military uses a 100- to 150- round helical magazine in the Type 88 assault rifle. Helical magazines offer substantially more ammunition carriage, however they are inherently complex designs. As such, they can be difficult to load and may decrease the reliability of feeding the weapon.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: A "STANAG magazine" or "NATO magazine" is a type of detachable magazine proposed by NATO in October 1980. Shortly after NATO's acceptance of the 5.56×45mm NATO rifle cartridge, Draft Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4179 was proposed in order to allow NATO members to easily share rifle ammunition and magazines down to the individual soldier level. The U.S. M16 rifle magazine was proposed for standardization. Many NATO members subsequently developed or purchased rifles with the ability to accept this type of magazine. However, the standard was never ratified and remains a "Draft STANAG".


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: The STANAG magazine concept is only an interface, dimensional, and control (magazine latch, bolt stop, etc.) requirement. Therefore, it not only allows one type of magazine to interface with various weapon systems, but also allows STANAG magazines to be made in various configurations and capacities. The standard STANAG magazines are 20, 30, and 40 round box magazines, but there are many other designs available with capacities ranging from 1 round to 60 and 100 round casket magazines, 90 round snail-drum magazines, and 100 round and 150 round double-drum magazines.


title: Magazine (firearms)

text: In the United States, a number of states have passed laws that ban magazines which are defined as "high-capacity" by statute. High-capacity or large-capacity magazines are generally those defined by statute to be capable of holding more than 10 to 15 rounds, although the definitions vary. Other nations impose restrictions on magazine capacity as well. In Canada, magazines are generally limited to 5 rounds for rifles and 10 for handguns (with some exceptions), depending on the firearm.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo Xilai (; born 3 July 1949) is a Chinese former politician who was convicted on bribery and embezzlement charges. He came to prominence through his tenures as Mayor of Dalian and then the governor of Liaoning. From 2004 to November 2007, he served as Minister of Commerce. Between 2007 and 2012, he served as a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Communist Party Secretary of Chongqing, a major interior municipality. He was generally considered the main political rival of Xi Jinping before Xi was elected to be the Paramount Leader of China.


title: Bo Xilai

text: He is the son of former Chinese Vice Premier Bo Yibo. He cultivated a casual and charismatic image in a marked departure from Chinese political convention. In Chongqing, Bo initiated a campaign against organized crime, increased spending on welfare programs, maintained consistent double-digit percentage GDP growth, and campaigned to revive Cultural Revolution-era "red culture". Bo's promotion of egalitarian values and the achievements of his "Chongqing model" made him the champion of the Chinese New Left, composed of both Maoists and social democrats disillusioned with the country's market-based economic reforms and increasing economic inequality. However, the perceived lawlessness of Bo's anti-corruption campaigns, coupled with concerns about the image he cultivated, made him a controversial figure.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo was considered a likely candidate for promotion to the elite CCP Politburo Standing Committee in 18th Party Congress in 2012. However, his political fortunes came to an abrupt end following the Wang Lijun incident, in which his top lieutenant and police chief sought asylum at the American consulate in Chengdu. Wang claimed to have information about the involvement of Bo Xilai and his wife Gu Kailai in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, who allegedly had close financial ties to the two. In the fallout, Bo was removed as the CCP Committee secretary of Chongqing and lost his seat on the Politburo. He was later stripped of all his positions and lost his seat at the National People's Congress and eventually expelled from the party. In 2013, Bo was found guilty of corruption, stripped of all his assets and sentenced to life imprisonment. He is incarcerated at Qincheng Prison.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo Xilai was born on 3 July 1949. He was the fourth child and second son of prominent Communist Party leader Bo Yibo, one of the Eight Great Eminent Officials, who served as Minister of Finance in the early years of the People's Republic of China but who fell from favor in 1965 for supporting more open trade relations with the West. When the Cultural Revolution began in 1966, Bo Yibo was labeled a "rightist" and a "counterrevolutionary" and purged from his posts. He spent the ensuing twelve years in prison, where he was reportedly tortured. His wife, Hu Ming, was abducted by Red Guards in Guangzhou, and was either beaten to death or committed suicide.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo Xilai was seventeen years old when the Cultural Revolution began, and at the time attended the prestigious No. 4 High School in Beijing, one of the best in the country. In the early years of the Cultural Revolution, Bo Xilai is reported to have been an active member of the "liandong" Red Guard organization and may have at one point denounced his father.


title: Bo Xilai

text: As the political winds of the Cultural Revolution shifted, Bo Xilai and his siblings were either imprisoned or sent to the countryside, and Bo Xilai was locked up for five years. After the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, the chaos of the Cultural Revolution was officially attributed to the Gang of Four, and Bo's father was released. Bo Yibo was politically rehabilitated, and, in 1979, became vice premier.


title: Bo Xilai

text: After his release, Bo Xilai worked at the Hardware Repair Factory for the Beijing Second Light Industry Bureau. He was admitted to the Peking University by public examination in 1977. Unlike many of his contemporaries in the Chinese leadership who studied engineering, Bo majored in world history. In the second year of his studies, Bo enlisted in a Master's program in international journalism at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, graduating with a master's degree in 1982. He joined the Communist Party in October 1980.


title: Bo Xilai

text: During the 1980s, the Bo family regained its political influence. Bo Yibo served successively as vice premier and vice-chairman of the Central Advisory Commission. The elder Bo came to be known as one of the "eight elders" (sometimes referred to as the "Eight Immortals") of the Communist Party and was instrumental in the implementation of market reforms in the 1980s. Although he favored more liberal economic policies, the elder Bo was politically conservative, and endorsed the use of military force against demonstrators during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. After the 1989 crackdown, Bo Yibo helped ensure the ascent of Jiang Zemin to succeed Deng Xiaoping as the leader of the Party and helped Jiang consolidate power in the 1990s. Bo Yibo remained a prominent figure in the party until his death in 2007 and was influential in shaping his son's career.


title: Bo Xilai

text: After graduating from university, Bo Xilai was assigned to Zhongnanhai – the headquarters of the Communist Party – where he worked with the research office of the CCP Central Committee Secretariat and CCP Central Committee General Office. He soon requested a transfer to the provinces, and in 1984 was appointed deputy party secretary of Jin County (modern day Jinzhou District, Dalian, Liaoning). In an interview with "People's Daily", Bo said that his family name created career obstacles. "For quite a long time people had reservations about me," he said. Bo subsequently became deputy secretary and then secretary of the party committee of the Dalian Economic and Technological Development Zone and secretary of the Jinzhou party committee.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Rising again in rank within the party, he became a member of the Standing Committee of the Dalian Municipal CCP Committee, the city's top decision-making body, and became the Vice-mayor of Dalian in 1990. In 1993, Bo became deputy party secretary and mayor of Dalian.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo became acting mayor of Dalian in 1993 and formally assumed the post later in the same year. He remained mayor until 2000. Bo served as Dalian's deputy party secretary from 1995. Bo was promoted to CCP Committee Secretary in 1999 and served in that position until 2000.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo's tenure in Dalian was marked by the city's phenomenal transformation from a drab port city to a modern metropolis, a 'showcase' of China's rapid economic growth. In the early 1990s, Bo took some credit for the construction of the Shenyang-Dalian Expressway, China's first controlled-access freeway, winning accolades for the rapid expansion of infrastructure and for environmental work. Since Bo's time in office, Dalian became known as one of the cleanest cities in China, having won the UN Habitat Scroll of Honour Award in 1999. In addition, Bo was an advocate for free enterprise and small businesses, and successfully courted foreign investment from East Asian neighbours such as South Korea and Japan, as well as Western countries. In contrast to his colleagues, he held press conferences at the Chinese New Year, and developed a reputation among foreign investors for 'getting things done'.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo spent seven years in the city of Dalian, a lengthy term in comparison to colleagues of the same rank, who are often transferred to different locales throughout their careers. Despite the accompanying economic growth and rise in living standards, Bo's tenure in Dalian has sometimes been criticized as having been too focused on aesthetic development projects such as expansive boulevards, monuments, and large public parks. To make way for his large-scale projects, Bo's administration moved large numbers of local residents from downtown areas into new homes in the city's outskirts. Dalian's greenery was dubbed "Xilai Grass". In addition, he spearheaded the construction of a "huabiao" in the city. In 2000, Bo was frontrunner for the post of Mayor of Shenzhen, based on his success in making Dalian the "Hong Kong of the North". However it was suggested that Bo was too independent and outspoken for the post. The post went to Yu Youjun instead.


title: Bo Xilai

text: During the 15th Party Congress in 1997, Bo Xilai's family launched an unsuccessful campaign to secure his promotion to become a member of the Central Committee of the CCP. Although nepotism was generally frowned upon in China, Bo Yibo's ambitions for his son were well-known. Bo Yibo advanced the idea that revolutionary elders should 'nominate' their children to become high officials, and Bo Xilai was selected as his family's 'representative' over his older brother Bo Xicheng, ostensibly because of Xilai's superior academic credentials, which included attendance at the elite Peking University and a master's degree.


title: Bo Xilai

text: In order to secure Bo Xilai's selection for promotion during the 15th Party Congress, the family launched a nationwide campaign to publicize his son's "achievements" as mayor of Dalian. They commissioned author Chen Zufeng to pen a report portraying Bo as a man who is "as statesman-like as Henry Kissinger, as environmentally conscious as Al Gore, and almost as beloved by the public as Princess Diana." Despite the publicity campaign, Bo Xilai failed even to gain a seat in the Liaoning provincial delegation to the Party Congress. Ultimately, Bo Yibo helped him gain a seat with the Shanxi delegation, but the younger Bo was unable to secure a promotion.


title: Bo Xilai

text: In addition, Bo Xilai placed second-last in the confirmation vote for membership in the 15th CCP Central Committee. As he placed in the bottom 5% of candidates, Bo Xilai was denied entry into the elite council, suffering a major political embarrassment. Bo's failure to get elected was attributed to a general opposition to nepotism within the Party. Moreover, during his tenure in Dalian, Bo caused resentment for the amount of 'special favours' that he procured for the coastal city at the expense of the rest of the province. His perceived partisan interests locked Bo's kin in a factional struggle against Li Tieying, one of China's central leadership figures, who may have created obstacles to his promotion.


title: Bo Xilai

text: In 2001, a corruption scandal involving former Liaoning governor Zhang Guoguang provided an opportunity for Bo's advancement. Prior to the 15th Party Congress, Bo Yibo and Bo Xilai assisted then-party general secretary Jiang Zemin in preparing to force political rival Qiao Shi into retirement. The Bo family also supported Jiang's "Three Stresses" ("San Jiang") campaign in 1997, which was intended to strengthen ideological conviction and promote internal unity in the Communist Party; however, the campaign was generally seen as lacklustre by observers and not universally embraced even inside the party leadership. The Bos' unwavering support for Jiang was said to have worked in Bo Xilai's favour when the vacancy for Governor of Liaoning opened. Bo became acting governor in 2001 after the dismissal and arrest of Zhang Guoguang, and was officially confirmed as governor in 2003. In his position as governor, which he held until 2004, Bo gained membership to the Central Committee of the Communist Party.


title: Bo Xilai

text: During his tenure in Liaoning, Bo played a critical role in the promotion of the Northeast Area Revitalization Plan. Adopted in 2003 by party authorities, the policy aimed to strengthen economic development in the provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. Bo Xilai was particularly enthusiastic about the policy, stating his desire to see the Northeast become "China's fourth economic engine" (the others being the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and the Bohai Economic Region).


title: Bo Xilai

text: The Northeast was at one time known as the "cradle of industrialization" of China. In 1980, industrial output for Liaoning alone was twice that of the Guangdong. However, the northeast was left behind amidst market reforms of the 1980s and 1990s, while Guangdong and other provinces along the South and East China Sea coasts prospered. Its economy—still largely tied to state-owned enterprises—stagnated relative to other regions, with high unemployment rates. The revitalisation plan aimed to address this by reviving the region's traditional industries, strengthening trade ties with and encouraging investment from South Korea and Japan, and experimenting with free trade zones in select cities. In 2004, official media reported that foreign direct investment in Liaoning had nearly doubled since the launch in 2003 of the northeastern rejuvenation strategy.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Although Bo established a reputation as a comparatively clean politician during his tenures in Dalian and as governor of Liaoning, he was not immune to corruption allegations. In particular, Bo was the subject of critical investigative reports by Liaoning journalist Jiang Weiping, the whistleblower in the "Mu and Ma" corruption case in Liaoning – a scandal that Bo benefited from politically. While Bo was not directly involved in the scandal, Jiang accused Bo of providing political cover for his friends and relatives. Jiang was initially sentenced to eight years in prison on trumped-up charges, for which Bo was criticized, but was released after five years under international pressure. Yang Rong, the former chief executive of Brilliance China Automotive who fled to the United States after getting embroiled in a dispute against state property authorities, accused Bo of interfering in his judicial proceedings in Beijing. In addition, Bo openly clashed with Wen Shizhen, then-party secretary in Liaoning who was technically Bo's superior. Wen reportedly criticized Bo for "developing China's cities like Europe and its countryside like Africa," and even held a party to celebrate Bo's departure from Liaoning in 2004.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Ethan Gutmann, citing Falun Gong allegations that Liaoning was the epicenter of organ harvesting from practitioners while Bo was governor, suggested that he may have used his involvement as a way of building up his political power. David Kilgour, who co-wrote the Kilgour–Matas report on organ harvesting, claimed Bo may have played a role. Separately, Falun Gong practitioners abroad filed over ten lawsuits against Bo alleging torture and crimes against humanity. In 2009, a Spanish court indicted Bo Xilai and four other officials for genocide against Falun Gong based on those allegations.


title: Bo Xilai

text: At the 16th Party Congress in 2002, Bo's age, regional tenures, and patronage links fit the profile for a potential candidate to be groomed for the "5th generation of leaders" that would assume power in 2012. His chief competitors were seen as Xi Jinping, then party secretary of Zhejiang, and Li Keqiang, a populist "Tuanpai" candidate who was the Governor of Henan. As with the 15th Party Congress five years earlier, the elder Bo lobbied for his son's promotion. The Bo family enjoyed the patronage of Jiang Zemin. However, Bo Xilai's unequivocal support for Jiang strengthened the reluctance of his political opponents to support his nomination. Ultimately, although Bo Xilai remained a top contender for higher promotion, Xi and Li remained the main candidates to succeed Hu Jintao as paramount leader.


title: Bo Xilai

text: When Hu Jintao succeeded Jiang Zemin as CCP General Secretary in late 2002, Bo's career as a local official ended with his appointment to Minister of Commerce in Wen Jiabao's cabinet to replace Lü Fuyuan, who retired for health reasons. Bo also earned a seat on the 16th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo's stint as Minister of Commerce significantly raised his international profile and generated media attention both in China and abroad. Described as good-looking, articulate and open-minded in his approach to problems, Bo's rise from a municipal official to the central government generated great media fanfare and elevated his status to something of a 'political star.' Bo's political persona was considered a departure from the generally serious and conservative leadership in Beijing. With his youthful vigour, populism, and purported popularity with female reporters, Bo's political rise had been compared to that of John F. Kennedy.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo presided over a continued rise in foreign investment in China as Minister of Commerce. His daily schedule was dominated by receiving foreign guests and dignitaries. By the time that he became Minister, he spoke relatively fluent and colloquial English. During a meeting with American officials, Bo reputedly told a struggling interpreter to stop translating because the Chinese officials could understand English and it was wasting time. In May 2004 Bo was one of the few ministers hand-picked to accompany Premier Wen Jiabao on a five-country trip to Europe. The trade policy of the United States toward China also sparked significant controversy. Bo maintained a conciliatory but assertive attitude as he attended talks in Washington. On his trips to the United States, he conducted substantive discussions with his American counterparts and signed agreements on intellectual property, the services sector, agricultural products, food safety, and consumer protection.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo also oversaw the restructuring of the Ministry, formed from 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 success up to that point was largely dependent on foreign companies. He drew up plans to protect Chinese industries' competitive position within a domestic market that was quickly being crowded out by foreign competition.


title: Bo Xilai

text: At the 17th Party Congress in October 2007, Bo gained a seat on the 25-member Politburo, effectively China's ruling council. He was then tipped to leave the Ministry of Commerce and take over as CCP Committee secretary of Chongqing. Bo's predecessor, political rival Wang Yang, was reassigned as party secretary of Guangdong.


title: Bo Xilai

text: At the time, Chongqing was reeling from problems such as air and water pollution, unemployment, poor public health, and complications from the Three Gorges Dam. According to analysts, Hu Jintao wanted to transfer his ally Wang Yang out of Chongqing before these problems intensified. Bo was initially reluctant to go to Chongqing and was reportedly unhappy with his new assignment. He had hoped to become vice-premier instead, but Premier Wen Jiabao and Vice-premier Wu Yi argued against Bo's promotion to vice-premiership. In particular, Wu was critical of Bo's penchant for self-promotion, and Wen cited international lawsuits against Bo by Falun Gong adherents as a barrier to his holding higher office.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo took up the Chongqing post on 30 November, a month following the conclusion of the Congress, even though Wang Yang had vacated the position on 13 November. Whilst some saw this transfer as a 'banishment' from the central government to the hinterlands to keep Bo's perceived arrogance and high-profile antics out of Beijing's view, others considered it a promotion since being the party secretary in one of the four direct-controlled municipalities came with an "ex officio" seat on the Politburo.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Although Bo was initially unhappy about his reassignment in Chongqing, he soon resolved to use his new position as a staging ground for a return to higher national office. Bo made no secret of his desire to enter the nine-member CCP Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) during the 18th Party Congress in autumn 2012, as all but two of the PSC members—including President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao—were expected to retire. The transition would be an opportunity for Bo to join the highest echelon of national leadership, likely as a replacement for ally Zhou Yongkang, secretary of the CCP Central Political and Legislative Committee, serving as the head of the party's security apparatus.


title: Bo Xilai

text: In Chongqing, Bo pioneered a new style of governance dubbed the "Chongqing Model" – a set of social and economic policies intended to address diverse challenges facing modern China following economic reforms. This made him the champion of the Chinese New Left, composed of both Maoists and social democrats disillusioned with the country's market-based economic reforms and increasing economic inequality.


title: Bo Xilai

text: The Chonqging model was characterized in part by increased state control and the promotion of a neo-leftist ideology. Along with his police chief Wang Lijun, Bo launched a sweeping campaign against organized crime, and increased the security and police presence in the city. Critics noted these policies were accompanied by the erosion of the rule of law, and allegations surfaced of political and personal rivals being victimized amidst Bo's anti-corruption drive. As a means of addressing declining public morality, Bo launched a "red culture" movement to promote Maoist-era socialist ethics. On the economic front, he actively courted foreign investment—much as he had done in Liaoning. The Chongqing model was also characterized by massive public works programs, subsidized housing for the poor, and social policies intended to make it easier for rural citizens to move to the city, thus reaping the benefits of urban status. An article compared Bo's governing style to Russian president Vladimir Putin.


title: Bo Xilai

text: The Chongqing model provided an alternate development paradigm that diverged from the policies preferred by those in the national leadership seen as favouring further reform such as Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. Bo's leadership in Chongqing dramatically raised his profile, both nationally and internationally. In 2010, he was named as one of the 'World's 100 Most Influential People in 2010' by "Time." Observers noted that, in China's non-electoral political system, Bo's high-profile presence and bold political maneuvers essentially amounted to a public 'election campaign' for the top leadership. However, he drew the ire of some of the country's leaders; President Hu and Premier Wen were reluctant to acknowledge Bo publicly, ostensibly due to a discomfort over his leadership style.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo's tenure in Chongqing was dominated by a protracted war against organized crime and corruption known as "" (). Between 2009 and 2011, an estimated 5,700 people were arrested in the sweeping campaign that ensnared not only criminals, but also businessmen, members of the police force, judges, government officials, and political adversaries. The campaign was overseen by Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun, whom Bo had worked with previously in Liaoning.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Wen Qiang, one of the most prominent figures implicated in the trials, had been a prominent municipal official since the days of party secretaries He Guoqiang and Wang Yang. Wen, the former executive deputy commissioner of the Chongqing police force Public Security for 16 years, was tried and convicted of a litany of crimes and sentenced to death in a sensational headline-grabbing trial. Contrary to the popular perception at the time that the campaign was part of Bo's perceived penchant for self-promotion, China observer Willy Lam suggested that such a large-scale crackdown will have received approval from central authorities, including Hu Jintao, and that Bo became careful to not let Chongqing appear to be trying to 'set an example' for the rest of the country so he could benefit from the success politically.


title: Bo Xilai

text: The "dahei" campaign earned Bo national recognition and widespread popularity in Chongqing—all the more because of the city's historical reputation as a center for criminal activity. In contrast to often colourless and orthodox politicians, Bo gained the reputation as a party boss that "got things done." The apparent success of "dǎhēi" earned Bo 'rock star status', and resulted in calls to replicate the campaign on a nationwide scale. Through the campaign, Bo gained the support of a number of powerful members of the Politburo Standing Committee, including Wu Bangguo, Jia Qinglin, Li Changchun, Xi Jinping and Zhou Yongkang, all of whom visited Chongqing or praised Bo's achievements sometime between 2010 and 2011.


title: Bo Xilai

text: However, Bo's campaign was criticized for running roughshod over judicial due process and eroding the rule of law. Individuals targeted in the campaign were arbitrarily detained by the authorities, with an estimated 1,000 being sent to forced labour. Lawyers for the accused were intimidated and harassed, and in at least one case, sentenced to 18 months in prison. Allegations also surfaced over the use of torture to extract confessions. Moreover, assets seized during the campaign were allegedly redirected to help pay for Bo's popular social housing programs. "The Wall Street Journal" reported that US$11 billion went into government coffers through the campaign. Li Jun, a fugitive businessman, asserted that he became a target of Bo anti-corruption drive as a result of a land dispute with the government. When he refused government demands to give up the land, he claims that he was abducted and tortured, and that US$700 million worth of assets in his business were seized.


title: Bo Xilai

text: During his time in Chongqing, Bo initiated a series of Maoist-style campaigns to revive 'red culture' and improve public morale, known as "" (). The initiative included the promotion of Maoist quotes, 'red' songs, revolutionary television programming and operas, and initiatives to encourage students to work in the countryside, akin to the way students were required to do during the Down to the Countryside Movement of the Cultural Revolution. As part of the movement, Bo and the city's Media Department initiated a "Red Songs campaign" that demanded every district, government department, commercial enterprise, educational institution, state radio and TV stations begin singing 'red songs' praising the achievements of the Communist Party. Bo pledged to reinvigorate the city with the Marxist ideals reminiscent of the Mao era.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Prior to the 60th Anniversary of the People's Republic of China celebrations, for instance, Bo sent out 'red text messages' to the city's 13 million mobile phone users. According to "Xinhua", Bo's text messages were usually quotes from Mao's Little Red Book, and include phrases such as "I like how chairman Mao puts it: The world is ours, we will all have to work together," and "responsibility and seriousness can conquer the world, and the Chinese Communist Party members represent these qualities." Bo and his team of municipal administrators also erected new Mao statues in Chongqing, while providing 'social security apartments' to the city's less well-off. Some scholars have characterized this as an example of the revival of Maoism in the Chinese Communist ethos.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Reactions to the red culture movement were divided. Bo's revival of Mao-era culture and accompanying social welfare programs were popular within much of the middle to lower income strata of Chongqing society, and made Bo a star with both conventional Marxists and neo-leftists. Bo won praise for returning the city to what some called China's 'true socialist heritage' by de-emphasizing material wealth, and evoked nostalgia to the social egalitarianism that existed during Mao's time. Some retirees were particularly inspired and said they wanted to pass on "revolutionary spirit" to their children, while others participated as a means to praise the Communist Party for the country's economic progress.


title: Bo Xilai

text: The campaign also had many detractors. Some intellectuals and reformers criticized the campaign for being regressive, akin to "being drowned in a red sea", and bringing back painful memories from the Cultural Revolution. Several mid-level officials in the city committed suicide due to overwhelming pressure to organize events for the red songs campaign. Bo's critics derisively referred to him as "little Mao".


title: Bo Xilai

text: A cornerstone of Bo's Chongqing model involved a series of egalitarian social policies aimed to lessen the gap between rich and poor, and ease the rural-urban divide. Bo promoted the notion of pursuing "red GDP"—an economic model embodying communist egalitarianism—and suggested that, if economic development were analogous to 'baking a cake', then the primary task should be to divide the cake fairly rather than building a larger cake.


title: Bo Xilai

text: To that end, the city reportedly spent $15.8 billion on public apartment complexes for use by recent college graduates, migrant workers and low-income residents. In 2007, the cities of Chongqing and Chengdu were selected to run pilot projects intended to mitigate the rural-urban divide and ease integration of rural residents into the cities. Under China's "hukou" registration system at the time, citizens were classified as either rural or urban—a distinction that affected educational opportunities, health benefits, and social welfare, effectively making rural "hukou" holders 'second class citizens'. Of Chongqing's 32 million residents, only 27% held urban "hukou" as of 2007. The 2007 project made it easier for rural residents to obtain urban status, a policy intended not only to help balance inequality, but also to enable the government to develop underused rural land. Under Bo's leadership, Chongqing established "land exchanges" where rural villages could earn credits for maximizing farmland.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo's approach to social policy was demonstrated during the November 2008 taxi strikes, which saw over 8,000 taxi drivers take to the streets for two days in protests over high fees, unregulated competition and rising fuel costs. Similar protests in China were frequently suppressed—sometimes forcefully—with official media sometimes blaming labour unrest on criminal instigation. Bo's government instead held a televised roundtable dialogues with the protesters and citizens, and agreed to allow the formation of a trade union. His handling of the situation earned him praise as a comparatively restrained and progressive leader.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Another major component of Bo's Chongqing model concerned the city's economic policies. Just as he had done in Liaoning, Bo ambitiously pursued foreign investment in the city, lowering corporate income tax rates (15% compared to the 25% national average), and sought to stimulate rapid urbanization and industrialization. He also carried on with policies initiated by his predecessors which focused on domestic consumption, rather than export-led growth. During his tenure, Chongqing reported annual GDP growth far exceeding the national average. In 2008, for instance, nationwide GDP growth was reported at 8%, while Chongqing reported 14.3%; the same year, foreign trade rose by 28%, and bank loans were up 29%.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Bo's model of economic growth won national and international praise for seamlessly combining foreign investment and state-led growth. However, Bo's critics called the model of "red GDP" – subsidized infrastructure, housing and public works projects – unsustainable and a drain on the city's budget. Some civil servants complained that they were not getting salaries on time. Chongqing received a disproportionately high share (some US$34 billion) of stimulus money from Beijing in 2008. Political rivals such as Bo's predecessor Wang Yang also suggested that economic figures in Chongqing were "rigged"—artificially inflated through unnecessary construction and public works projects.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Although many of Bo's campaigns earned popular support, especially from the city's poor, his leadership style has been described as "propagandistic," "ruthless," and "arrogant" by subordinates and city officials, academics, journalists, and other professionals. He cultivated a casual and charismatic image in a marked departure from Chinese political convention. Michael Wines of "The New York Times" wrote that although Bo was possessed of "prodigious charisma and deep intelligence," these qualities were offset by a "studied indifference to the wrecked lives that littered his path to power...Mr. Bo's ruthlessness stood out, even in a system where the absence of formal rules ensures that only the strongest advance." Bo placed onerous demands on government officials in the city, requiring them to be available to work all day and all night, seven days a week. He reportedly called subordinates to late-night meetings, publicly criticized and humiliated those with whom he disagreed, and even hit underlings who failed to meet his demands. According to a psychologist quoted by the "Daily Telegraph", since Bo Xilai assumed power, "depression, burn out and suicides have all risen among officials... Officials now make up the largest share of patients [seeking] counselling in the city."


title: Bo Xilai

text: In late 2009, a popular investigative television show on China Central Television aired a critical story on Bo's anti-crime drive, expressing concern over the apparent disregard for legal due process. In response, Bo used his connections to have the show's host temporarily banned from the airwaves, and its producer moved to another program. Others who opposed Bo's initiatives were also met with retribution. Li Zhuang, a defense lawyer from Beijing, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison (later reduced to 18 months) in 2009 for attempting to defend one of the high-profile targets of Bo's crackdown. Cheng Li, a scholar at the Brookings Institution, said that "Nobody really trusts [Bo]: a lot of people are scared of him, including several princelings who are supposed to be his power base."


title: Bo Xilai

text: As part of Bo's efforts to fight crime and maintain social and political stability in Chongqing, he initiated a major electronic surveillance operation. Wang Lijun, Chongqing's police chief, served as the architect of the state-funded project, which was described in official media as a "comprehensive package bugging system covering telecommunications to the Internet." The system involved wiretaps, eavesdropping, and monitoring of internet communications, and was designed with the help of cybersecurity expert Fang Binxing, known for his pivotal role in the construction of China's Great Firewall.


title: Bo Xilai

text: According to "The New York Times", the eavesdropping operations did not only target local criminals, but also the communications of top Chinese leaders, including those of President Hu Jintao. One source connected to the Chinese leadership said that Bo tried to monitor nearly all central leaders who had visited Chongqing to better understand what they thought of him. In August 2011, a phone call between Hu Jintao and anti-corruption official Ma Wen was found to be wiretapped under Bo's orders. The revelations about the eavesdropping operation resulted in intense scrutiny from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. It was also said to have sowed distrust and played a role in the falling out of Bo and his police chief Wang Lijun, who allegedly began to use the same eavesdropping methods against Bo himself. The operations were believed to have contributed to Bo's downfall in 2012.


title: Bo Xilai

text: On 14 November 2011, British citizen Neil Heywood was found dead in his Chongqing hotel room. At the time, local authorities declared he had died from alcohol over-consumption, though his family noted that he was not a heavy drinker. The official cause of death was not scrutinized until several months later, when revelations emerged that Heywood's death was a homicide, and Bo Xilai was implicated.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Heywood served as an intermediary linking Western companies to powerful Chinese politicians. He was a long-time associate of the Bo family: he reportedly shared a close personal relationship with Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, and had helped the couple's son Bo Guagua earn admission to Harrow School in England. Heywood also allegedly served as a middleman for the family, helping them clandestinely move large sums of money overseas.


title: Bo Xilai

text: In October 2011, Heywood reportedly had a business dispute with Gu Kailai when he demanded a higher commission for his services. The dispute escalated, with Heywood ultimately threatening to reveal the family's business dealings and overseas assets, estimated to total in excess of US$136 million. Heywood was then allegedly poisoned by Gu and an assistant. Gu would be convicted of the murder and receive a suspended death sentence in August 2012.


title: Bo Xilai

text: In early 2012, the party's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection bolstered its presence within Chongqing as the city's leaders came under investigation. Much of the attention focused on Bo's police chief, Wang Lijun, who may have been under investigation for his role in a corruption case in Liaoning. Growing scrutiny over the city's wiretapping operation against senior leaders also likely fell mainly on Wang. Although details are scarce, several sources have suggested that Wang's resentment against Bo grew amidst the investigations—resentment that was compounded when Wang realized that he and his wife had also been targets of wiretapping under Bo's orders.


title: Bo Xilai

text: Moreover, Wang was privy to details of Neil Heywood's death, and had reportedly attempted to voice his concerns to Bo about alleged poisoning. Around 16 January, Wang is believed to have confronted Bo over evidence that implicated Bo's wife in the murder. Although Bo initially agreed to allow an inquiry, he then changed course and sought to obstruct investigations. Wang was abruptly demoted on 2 February to the far less prestigious position of Vice-mayor overseeing education, science, and environmental affairs. Bo placed Wang under surveillance, and several of his close associates were reportedly taken into custody. Some reports allege that Bo may have been plotting to have Wang assassinated.


title: Bo Xilai

text: On 6 February 2012, apparently fearing for his life, Wang traveled to the U.S. consulate in the nearby city of Chengdu, bringing evidence implicating Bo and his family in the Neil Heywood murder. According to reports, Wang sought and was denied asylum in the United States. He remained in the consulate for approximately 24 hours before leaving "of his own volition" and being taken into the custody of state security officials dispatched from Beijing. Local media in Chongqing announced that he was on a mental health-related sick leave.


title: Bo Xilai

text: A day after Wang's leave, several overseas Chinese-language news websites posted an open letter allegedly penned by Wang, which sharply criticized Bo as a "hypocrite" and "the greatest gangster in China" and accused Bo of corruption. Without knowing what incriminating material Wang may have held against Bo, even Bo's supporters in China's top leadership were reluctant to vouch for him. Bo responded in an unusually open press conference during the 2012 National People's Congress, acknowledging "negligent supervision" of his subordinates, saying he may have "relied upon the wrong person".


title: Bo Xilai

text: On 15 March 2012, Bo was dismissed as Chongqing party secretary and its related municipal posts, while temporarily retaining a seat on the Politburo. Due to the potentially destructive effects Bo's dismissal would have on party unity, party elders were consulted on the matter. The decision was reportedly made at a meeting of the Politburo Standing Committee on 7 March, during which security tsar Zhou Yongkang cast a lone dissenting vote (and Bo Xilai had been earmarked to gain a position on in the future). On 14 March, Bo was reprimanded by Premier Wen Jiabao during the Premier's annual press conference. Wen called the achievements of Chongqing "significant," but the result of "multiple administrations," i.e., not just Bo himself. Wen also made numerous allusions to the damage wrought by the Cultural Revolution, an indirect rebuke of Bo's efforts to revive "red culture". Addressing high-level political changes by a Premier to an open public forum was unprecedented. Political observers believe that Wen's remarks and Bo's downfall represented a consensus within the central leadership that Bo not only needed to shoulder the responsibility for the Wang Lijun scandal, but also represented a political triumph for the 'liberal reformer' wing of the Communist Party.


title: Bo Xilai

text: On 10 April 2012, Bo was suspended from the party's Central Committee and its Politburo, pending investigation for "serious disciplinary violations." Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, was named a prime suspect in the inquiry into the death of British businessman Neil Heywood. The announcement, carrying criminal implications, was the death knell for Bo's political career.


title: Bo Xilai

text: On 28 September 2012, the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party adopted a decision to expel him from the party. The decision was ratified by a full plenary session of the Central Committee on 4 November. He was accused of major disciplinary violations and corruption charges during his tenure in Dalian, the Ministry of Commerce and Chongqing, including in relation to the Gu Kailai case.


title: Bo Xilai

text: On 26 October 2012, the Standing Committee of the 11th National People's Congress expelled him as a deputy to the national legislature, removing his final public post and setting the stage for his trial. When he was ejected from the Communist Party, the official announcement also mentioned that he had "had or maintained improper sexual relations with multiple women." Rumors also spread that he had an affair with the star actress of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Zhang Ziyi; Zhang racked up significant legal bills attempting to sue the sources of the rumour for defamation. During the trial, Bo admitted that he had fallen out with his wife because of an affair he had in the 1990s, prompting her to move to the United Kingdom to be near their son, Bo Guagua.