"Wang Lijun did not show up as arranged at the UK consulate in Chongqing, UK government sources told the BBC.
"Instead he allegedly tried to defect at the US mission in nearby Chengdu.
My comment: There is no need to read the rest, which just rehashes the old stories.
(2) Tony Liao and Sofia Wu, Bo Xilai's removal sheds light on power rift in China: experts. CNA, Mar 28, 2012. http://focustaiwan.tw/ShowNews/W ... amp;ID=201203280023
("'And the rift is over power, not necessarily over ideology, even though the guy may be a leftist,' Pei said in an interview with the U.S. think tank")
(i) "It [Bo's firing] shows there is a rift within the party. And the rift is over power, not necessarily over ideology, even though the guy may be a leftist.
(ii) "The premier, in terms of rhetoric, did not depart from what he has been saying all along. What is notable is whether the premier is saying this all by himself, or his senior colleagues were saying the same thing. And this time, he was saying it all by himself. His other colleagues did not follow him. And that shows that, probably, he is not expressing the collective voice of the Communist party. That means that, probably, you're not going to see real reform in the short term.
"When it comes to what future leaders in China will do, nobody knows. Even future leaders themselves do not know. Because it all depends on what kind of lineup they have at the top level of the Communist Party leadership.
"Bo Xilai's ouster was about power, rather than ideology. * * * Indeed, it's a convenient picture for the central leadership to paint for an international audience -- that they ousted Bo to prevent China from making a 'left turn.' While there may be a kernel of truth to this, the 'red songs' were more of a means to an end for Bo.
"power is what is propelling Chinese politics during this time of transition. China is now run more like a mafia state with a dozen or so powerful families in charge. Bo's was one of them. The rules of the game are as such: 'If you go after us, then we will go after you.' This might be another contributing factor to Bo's demise. His deputy was allegedly probing Bo's own family for corruption, and Bo responded by allegedly interfering in the investigation and attempting to sideline his once powerful chief. Unfortunately for Bo, his power struggle with Wang was not as important as Beijing's struggle with him. The leadership's longtime reservations about Bo's political style combined with his sudden vulnerability made for an excellent pretext to 'go after' him.
Note:
(a) The blog says, "The latter know that if those reforms are enacted the party (and party) is over for them."
The first "party" is "a social gathering" and the second, Chinese Communist Party.
(b) The chickens come home to roost. The Phrase Finder, undated. http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanin ... -home-to-roost.html
(c) Trgarding "inert political leadership."
inert (adj; Latin inert-, iners unskilled, idle, from in- + art-, ars skill — more at ART and ultimately ARM):
"1: lacking the power to move
2: very slow to move or act : SLUGGISH" www.m-w.com
(d) Power struggles are real as party leaders fight over an inverted Golden Rule -- in China, he who makes the rules gets the gold."