Beijing’s dismissal of Chongqing Communist Party secretary Bo Xilai (薄熙來) yesterday was an indication of the Chinese leadership’s resolute action against a possible resurgence of leftists, a Taiwanese academic said.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s (溫家寶) veiled criticism on Wednesday of Bo, whose pro-Mao Zedong (毛澤東) stance sounded an alarm in China’s power hierarchy, was followed by Beijing’s announcement yesterday that Bo would be replaced as the No. 1 man in Chongqing City.
Kou Chien-wen (寇健文), director of National Chengchi University’s Graduate Institute of East Asia Studies, said Bo’s efforts to promote Maoist ideas and to crack down on gangsters was seen as an attempt to lead a revival of leftism in China. The Chinese Communist Party has concluded that the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution was “a holocaust decade” in Chinese history.
Photo: CNA
On Wednesday, Wen expressed worry that without political reform, China’s hard-earned economic achievements might be lost and the growing inequality and corruption in the country might lead to a recurrence of the tragic Cultural Revolution.
Kou said leftist forces have been gathering in China recently, setting the stage for a fight between the right and the left.
Wen’s remarks at -Wednesday’s press conference showed that China’s top leadership was attempting to suppress the leftist idea of a “class struggle,” Kou said.
Firing Bo is a clear indication of Beijing’s efforts to nip the leftist resurgence in the bud, Kou said.
With Bo’s dismissal, it is unlikely he will be allowed into the Politburo Standing Committee, the power nucleus that he had worked hard to try to enter, the China expert said.
Bo’s former deputy and police chief Wang Lijun (王立軍) went to the US’ consulate in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, early last month, triggering speculation that he might have been seeking asylum.
After that incident, Chongqing and Beijing said Wang was on a “healing vacation” due to extreme stress from overwork.
However, observers said the incident unveiled an ongoing power struggle in the Chinese power hierarchy. The Wang incident is still being investigated.
Kou said the findings of the investigation would determine how far Beijing goes after Bo.
While Beijing may be tough on rooting out leftist influences in its power structure, Bo might still be retained as a member of the politburo as a gesture of party unity and harmony, Kou said.
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