[View the story "Bo Xilai ousted from Communist Party post" on Storify ]Bo Xilai ousted from Communist Party post Removal of Chongqing's Communist Party chief spurs strong online reactions Storified by The Stream · Thu, Mar 15 2012 13:57:20
The firing of a prominent Communist Party official in China has turned into oneof the nation's biggest political dramas in years.
Until Thursday, BoXilai, the Communist Party chief in the city of Chongqing, was expected to be the top candidate to head thenational party, which will name new leadership this fall. Many observersbelieve Bo's sacking illustrates the internal divisions amongst Chinese politicalelites.
Bo’s oustercomes just one day after Premier Wen Jiabao issued strong calls for political reform . At a National People's Congress news conference on Wednesday, Wen warned that if the CommunistParty did not bring about reform, China wouldrisk having a second Cultural Revolution.
That warning hasbeen read as a veiled threat towards Bo Xilai, who was known for promoting greaterequality and socialist growth in the southwestern city of Chongqing.
当时已经得知消息了 RT @iiilii: Mark RT @zhangweiguo: 薄熙来在3月14日的人大闭幕式上欲哭无泪 http://twitpic.com/8wgyp8ZJ
Bo has been under fire since his former police chief Wang Lijun was detained last month by state security officers after Wang allegedly sought political asylum at a local US consulate. Wang is now under investigation for unspecified reasons in Beijing. During the National People's Congress news conference, Wen offered his strongest response yet to the Wang Lijun incident. He stated that Chongqing authorities
"must seriously reflect on and draw lessons from the Wang Lijun incident." The announcement of Bo's firing went viral in China. Hashtag #Bo Xilai# (#薄熙来#) has become top trending topic on Sina Weibo.
Bo xilai top trending topic on sina weibo http://pic.twitter.com/0obHHjlsBill Bishop
Screen Shot 2012-03-15 at 11.03.32 AMAJstream
Bo Xilai is out, property developers down, and political reform back on the airwaves. Uncle Wen is going out in style!Pete Sweeney
granpa wen spoke for three hours...impossibile to stop...nothing really new, apart for some very clear anti-Bo Xilai remarks...beniamino natale
I'm REALLY hoping Bo Xilai will write a "Why I Am Leaving Chongqing..." op-ed for Global Times tomorrow: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304459804577282280904864936.html?mod=rss_about_chinaDaniel Drezner
Wow. Bo Xilai OUT as Chongqing boss after getting publicly chided by Wen yesterday. Chinese politics out-Dramas US politics this week.Karson Yiu
Cultural Revolution remarks from Wen + his answers on Chongqing = not a good day for Bo XilaiTom Lasseter
For years, many Chinese have become sceptical of Wen's commitment to political reform as they have seen a huge gap between rhetoric and reality. Some see Bo's sacking as more about political struggle rather than a step towards political reform.
@chenshushu says: Bo was removed from the Chongqing leader post. It is believed that for the first time, Wen Jiabao fulfills his promise.
薄蜀黍被免职.据悉这是温家宝许诺第一次实现saint kaka
@bleutee says: China's inner-party fighting becomes public in 2012. Bo's removal after Wen's criticism convinced me that there is still something about Wen Jiabao I can trust. Maybe a relatively open-minded and pro-reform group does exist in the Communist Party, and it still has power in the game. One thing we can make sure is that the ultra-leftist stronghold has finally come to an end...
2012党内斗争开始公开化了，这回温家宝讲话之后薄熙来被免职，让我开始对温家宝又有一些相信的东西了。或许党内还是有一个相对开明改革的派系，而且拥有一定相博弈的力量。可以确定的是左的投机路线失败了。利益上如何谁也不清楚，意识形态上左暂时成不了主流。BLEU TEE|天恕曰文
@old_wine says: There is probably a certain correlation between Wen's remarks on Chongqing's leadership yesterday and Bo's removal today. Wen is telling people that he still has real power. And his political group hasn't been sidelined.
昨天温对重庆的表态与今早薄被免职应该是有关联的，至少温在向世人显示，他还是掌有实权的人，他所属的派别没有被架空、没有被压倒。陈年老酒
@sygede says: I have reservations on Wen Jiabao's ability and perspectives as a politician. Fortunately, Wen gets Bo Xilai ousted before he steps down next year. This might be the only thing about Wen that most people will remember...
我对温家宝的政治能力和政治见解都极为保留，不过唯一值得庆幸的是他在下台前削藩掉了西南王。这可能是大多数人未来会记住他的唯一内容。。。。也许除了“我来晚了”这样老泪纵横的名言之外的唯一内容。。。Wesley Shu 舒洋
We support Premier Wen's call for political reform! But implementation depends on definition of "political," "reform," and "this century."The Relevant Organs
should Wen get credit for for at least talking about political reform? or is he just defending his legacy? but is it too late? hard to say..Li Yuan
Why isn't Wen facing a question about the legalization of "secret detentions"? This has been a hot topic in domestic media.Nicholas Bequelin 林伟
Chinese colleague says Wen's teary speech on his regrets as premier reminded him of Zhao Ziyang on Tiananmen Square. #chinaSui-Lee Wee 黄瑞黎
@ranyunfei says: Some people are wondering why those who call for political reform don't buy Wen's story. This is obvious. It is self-deceiving to believe in such a reform as they see so many innocent people detained by Chinese authorities and see a party that is all mouth and no trousers. False hope is a narcotic for those who are passive bystanders.
有人说温说得不错，为什么那么多主张变革的人还是不买账，其实这道理并不深奥。面对局子里那么多无辜的人，面对只说不做的空局，还相信他们在没有足够压力下自行改革，实是自欺欺人。越着时间的推移，各阶层要取得利益共识会越来越难，虚假期望其实是副大家都不负责任观望的麻醉药冉云飞
@maoomao says: This year is Wen Jiabao's last year as premier and he is renewing his call for political reform. If he could make some real progress, he would have gotten them done in the past nine years. He just keeps making some remarks, over and over again. This has happened almost 30 times...
今年是温家宝任职的最后一年，他再次表示要推动政治改革与中国民主进程。温家宝做了两任总理，现在是第十年。如果他会有作为的话，在前面的那九年就已经做了，而他一而再，再而三的只是做表态。他说了大概30次都有了。听了第一次，听了第二次……yoyoy.yz
Some on Twitter referred to Chinese author Yu Jie's book, "China's Best Actor: Wen Jiabao".
@h0n3yfish says: Wen says I hope that people will forget me -- This is difficult. How can we forget the best actor in the party's 60-year history? It just like we cannot forget Sean Connery.
温家宝：希望人民把我忘记。——这个真有点难，中共60年才出这么个影帝，怎能忘记呢？就像人们忘记不了肖恩康纳利一样。LQK
@old_wine says: The reason why Wen has been called as the best actor is not because he is good at his performance; it is because there are so many people who enjoy his performance.
称温家宝为影帝不是因为他演技高，而是因为有这么多人爱看他的表演。陈年老酒
