No Longer Immune, Bo Xilai Faces Criminal Inquiry in China BEIJING (Reuters) - China moved quickly on Friday to announce that it had formally begun a criminal inquiry into the former senior politician Bo Xilai, hours after expelling him from Parliament and, in doing so, removing his immunity from prosecution. The announcements pave the way for Mr. Bo, once a contender for top leadership, to face trial and most likely a long prison sentence on accusations of corruption and abuse of power. A brief report by Xinhua, the state-run news agency, said prosecutors had "imposed coercive measures on him in accordance with the law," probably a reference that he was now officially in detention. Mr. Bo's wife, Gu Kailai, and his former police chief, Wang Lijun, have both been imprisoned over a scandal that stems from the murder of a British businessman, Neil Heywood, while Mr. Bo was Communist Party chief of the southwestern city of Chongqing. The government last month accused Mr. Bo of corruption and of bending the law to cover up the murder. The latest move comes just before the Communist Party holds a congress, which opens Nov. 8, that will unveil the country's new central leadership. Mr. Bo, 63, was widely seen as pursuing a powerful spot in the new leadership before his career came apart after Mr. Wang fled to a United States consulate for more than 24 hours in February and claimed that Mr. Bo's wife had poisoned Mr. Heywood. Mr. Bo, a former commerce minister, used his post in Chongqing to cast the sprawling, haze-covered municipality as a showcase for his mix of populist policies and bold spending plans that won support from leftists yearning for a charismatic leader. Xinhua provided no other details, including what charges Mr. Bo may face. Earlier in the day, Xinhua said that the Standing Committee of Parliament "announced the termination of Bo Xilai's post" as the deputy to Parliament. He had enjoyed immunity from prosecution as a member of that body. Before Mr. Bo is charged and tried, investigators must first complete an inquiry and indict him, but China's prosecutors and courts are unlikely to challenge the accusations. A lawyer for Mr. Bo who has been employed by his family said Thursday that he was unable to say whether the government would allow him to represent Mr. Bo when the case goes to trial. "It's theater," said Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher at Human Rights Watch, who spoke before Mr. Bo's expulsion and criminal investigation were announced. "The judiciary grinds into action only when the outcome has been determined," Mr. Bequelin said. There is no indication we will see a genuine trial because Bo knows too much. An official account of Mr. Wang's trial in September said that Mr. Wang fled to the consulate in Chengdu, in southwest China, after Mr. Bo beat him and stripped him of his police job after Mr. Wang's decision to confront Mr. Bo with the accusation against Ms. Gu. Mr. Wang had spearheaded Mr. Bo's controversial campaign against organized crime, a prominent plank in Mr. Bo's barely concealed campaign to join the topmost ranks of the Communist Party. Mr. Bo has not had a chance to respond publicly to the accusations against him.