CHINA/FILE: Ambitious senior Communist Party official Bo Xilai is sacked from his post in Chongqing, southwest China in a dramatic move exposing tensions in the country's preparations for a transfer of power later this year

Record ID: 1374109

  • Title: CHINA/FILE: Ambitious senior Communist Party official Bo Xilai is sacked from his post in Chongqing, southwest China in a dramatic move exposing tensions in the country's preparations for a transfer of power later this year
  • Date: 16th March 2012
  • Summary: BEIJING, CHINA (FILE - MARCH 2010) (REUTERS) BO (CENTRE) SEATED BO SPEAKING CROWD OF JOURNALISTS BO JOKING WITH JOURNALISTS, WALKING AWAY
  • Embargoed: 31st March 2012 03:21
  • Keywords:
  • Location: China
  • Country: China
  • Topics: Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAEIKKN9KNSS5SYQ4BFOHJ01W9M
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Ambitious Communist Party chief Bo Xilai has been sacked from his post in a dramatic move exposing tensions in China's preparations for a generational transfer of power.
    State broadcaster CCTV announced on Thursday (March 15) that Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang will replace Bo as Communist Party chief of Chongqing, a sprawling riverside municipality in southwest China.
    "According to Xinhua News Agency, the Party's central committee decided earlier that comrade Zhang Dejiang will concurrently take up the posts of Chongqing's municipal committee member, standing committee member, and secretary; comrade Bo Xilai will no longer be in the posts of Chongqing's secretary, standing committee member, and municipal committee member," a news anchor said.
    Bo, a high-profile contender for top leadership, has been the subject of intense speculation since Vice Mayor Wang Lijun, his longtime police chief, went to ground last month in the U.S. consulate in nearby Chengdu until he was coaxed out and placed under investigation.
    The incident and the rumours it fanned have blotted Bo's prospects of climbing to the Party's top ruling body when when a new generation of leaders is unveiled at a meeting late this year.
    In a news conference on Wednesday (March 14), ahead of Thursday's announcement, Premier Wen Jiabao had scolded the Chongqing government over the Wang Lijun scandal, adding to the cloud around Bo.
    "The present Chongqing municipal Party committee and the municipal government must reflect seriously and learn from the Wang Lijun incident," Wen said, in the first public comment by a member of the Politburo.
    Chongqing authorities said last month that Wang had taken sick leave, sparking speculation he had been purged and had sought asylum at the U.S. Consulate in Chengdu.
    Wang had been a key figure in a highly-publicised drive against organised crime that was pursued by Bo.
    Wang is currently under investigation, Wen said.
    Bo's abrupt removal implied that while he may be kept on in some position until the party succession later this year, his chances of promotion were finished, an independent scholar in Beijing who follows party politics said.
    Beijing resident Mr. Wang had faith that the central leadership would mete out justice where it was due, whatever the reason for Bo's downfall.
    "If there's a problem, it's for the central leadership to decide. That's how the people see it. This is how it works with party cadres -- they have to face up to their achievements and mistakes. Right is right, wrong is wrong. Even senior leaders should be punished if they do something wrong or if they break the law," he said.
    Others like Beijing resident Mr. Wu felt movements in China's secretive leadership had little to do with everyday people.
    "It won't have any effect on us. It's so far removed from us normal people. We always think that we should consider more practical things, for example, after the two sessions whether the price of oil rises, or other pragmatic matters." he said.
    Chongqing, a municipality of over 30 million which Bo had turned into a bastion for Mao Zedong-inspired policies, last year registered one of China's highest rates of economic growth.
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