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Fall of China official roils Chongqing, with some public dissent Residents who benefited from local chief Bo Xilai's initiatives openly defend him. But the crackdown, with sensational allegations against his wife, continues. By Jonathan Kaiman, Los Angeles Times April 11, 2012 CHONGQING, China — Change has come quickly to this sprawling city of 30 million people since the charismatic local party chief, Bo Xilai, was fired last month by the national Communist Party leadership in China's most high-profile political shake-up in 20 years. Signs in public squares now ban gatherings to sing "red songs," a prominent element of Bo's effort...

China: Two Incidents Open Pandora’s Box – Analysis May 22, 2012 By Bhaskar Roy Two incidents, one regarding Chongqing Party Secretary Bo Xilai, and the other involving a blind human rights activist and self-taught lawyer Chen Guangchen, destroyed the myth that the Chinese system is a well oiled machine. Policy, individual, and bitter factional rivalries are kept sealed from the public to ensure the Party’s inviolability. This is the biggest political quake the country has experienced since the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. The new age of social communication, the internet, has also damaged the Party’s secrecy. Even people inside the...