Financial Times (FT), Mar 16, 2012

choi

There is no need to read any of the following--besides the quotation--except (2)(a), which demands no sign-up.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b168c3 ... 2-00144feab49a.html

(1) Jamil Anderlini, Chinese High-Flyer Purged; o ilai dismissed from post; Biggest political upheaval for 20 years (top half page of front page)

(2) An entire page (p 4) dedicated to Bo's fall from grace.
(a) Jamil Anderlini, Privileged Son of 'Immortal' Sees Political Ambitions Die: Rise and fall; Bo Xilai, whose father helped founded modern China, appeared destined for the top.

A photo montage headlined "A history of purges":
1976 Gang of Four [showing Juang Qing's photo]
1979 Huo Giofeng 1987 Hu Yaobang
1987 Hu Yanbang
1989 Zhao Ziyang
1992 Yang Shangkun[,] President  This military leader, who co-ordinated the violent response to the Tiananmen protests saw his political ambitions thwarted by the rise of Jiang Zemin. Yang Baibing, his half-brother, was purged at the same time
2006 Chen Liangyu
2012 Bo Xilai

My comment: This is the center piece of the page. However, contrary to BBC Chinese, this piece did not say Bo is a "sacrificial lamb of China's power struggle." Neither "sacrifice" nor "power struggle" is used in this piece.

(b) David Pilling, Purge Drama Reveals Party Is Far From Monolithic.

Quote:

"In a way, it was fitting that Mr Bo was brought down in a political purge reminiscent of the Cultural Revolution itself [after having described Bo's "tap[ping] into the mythology of Maoism, reviving 'red' slogans and singalongs"].

"Indeed, only once since the communist revolution of 1949 has there been anything approaching a smoothly executed transition. That was in 2002, when Jiang Zemin handed power to Hu Jintao, the current president. Mr Jiang had not been slated for top leadership position. He took over only after Deng Xiaopind's heir apparent, Zhao Ziyang, had been removed in a Bo-type purpe because of perceived weakness during the Tiananmen Square crisis of 1989.

(c) Stefan Wagstyl, From the blogs: Fallout Felt Among Chongqing Stocks.
http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics ... exit/#axzz1pObLWO1Y

(d) Jamil anderlini, Dismissal Does Little to Quash Factional Battles; Internal divisions; Bitter infightingis far from over as the leadership transition draws nearer.

(3) Lifen Zhang, Memo From Beijing: The China Model Has Lost All Its Lustre.

Quote:

"China's model--call it 'authoraritarian capitalism' or 'socialism with Chinese characteristics'--is seen as a potent alternativefor governance. The crucial question, though, is whether it is the best option for China. The answer is no.

"I once asked a senior adviser of China's leaders if there was nothing Beijing could learn from western-style democracy. He uttered, after an excruciating pause, one word: 'Voting.' Within China's political establishment, a consensus seems to be quietly emerging that, sooner or later, China will have to undertake a long and painful process of democratisation to address, once and for all, the party's legitimacy.

Note: At the end of the op-ed is this introduction: "The writer is editor-in-chief of FTChinese.com and an associate editor of the Financial Times."