Chongqing City Party Secretary Bo Xilai’s controversial campaign against gangsters in Chongqing has caused an open fight among the top leaders of China. Liu Fengyan, Deputy Secretary of the Central Committee for Discipline Inspection, led an inspection team to Chongqing in October for a three-month inspection. Liu was said to state that the fight against the gangsters cannot become a movement or “red terror,” nor should it bypass the legal system (criticizing Bo Xilai). Liu is loyal to Hu Jintao and had put Chen Liangyu, former Shanghai chief into jail.

On the other side, the Chongqing government website reported that Zhou Yongkang, a member of the Central Committee’s Political Bureau Standing Committee, the Secretary of the Political and Legal Committee, a Jiang Zemin loyalist, has given a special praise to Bo Xilai recently. Xinhua also published a commentary on Zhou’s trip to Jinggangshan on November 3, as to send warning messages to three groups of people in the public security system. The third group is those who want to “stir things up” by criticizng Bo’s fight against gangsters.

Background: Bo Xilai is the son of Bo Yibo who was a senior CCP leader. Bo Xilai is considered a leader of the princelings with wide connections with princelings and the media. He started an ideology campaign of singing the “red songs” (songs to praise the CCP) and sending “red text messages” (quotes from CCP leaders) earlier this year. He started the gangster campaign in June 2009. The media has overwhelming praise for him. The fight over him is about his political ambitions as the  CCP leaders must choose successors to Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao.

Sources:
1. Radio Free Asia, October 26, 2009
http://www.rfa.org/mandarin/pinglun/jwp-10262009095713.html
2. Chongqing News, the official site for Chongqing government, October 28, 2009
http://pl.cqnews.net/sz/200910/t20091028_3713364.htm
3.  Xinhua, November 8, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-11/08/content_12407989.htm

Xinhua reported on November 6 that Shen Deyong, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of the Supreme Court, emphasized in the Fourth Training Class of Presidents of the Basic and Intermediate Courts that justice work should be based on improving Party development, which is the strongest “political assurance” of the “scientific improvement” of the people’s court system. He required the court presidents to “systematically study” basic Marxism, Socialist Theories with Chinese Characteristics, the core value system of socialism, and the socialist concept of rule of law. He also called for sharing the Party’s cares and worries.

Source: Xinhua, November 6, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-11/06/content_12401416.htm

Xinhua reported that on November 3, 2009, Zhou Yongkang, a member of the CCP Central Committee’s Political Bureau Standing Committee, the secretary of the Central Political and Law Commission, and Meng Jianzhu, state councilor and deputy secretary of the Central Political and Law Commission, Minister of Public Security, led all the Central Political and Law Commission members and the National Police Bureau Chiefs Forum participants to the Jinggangshan [1] Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery. They presented flower baskets to the revolutionary martyrs and re-read the Party Oath.

Now, there are over 2 million police and over 3 million political and law personnel all over the country with over 70% being CCP members. How to make all the police officers maintain their belief (in the CCP) has become the primary subject of public security work.

Source: Xinhua, November 5, 2009
http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2009-11/05/content_12394516.htm
[1] Jinggangshan is known as the birthplace of the Chinese Red Army and the "cradle of the Chinese revolution." It is where Mao Zedong and a few fellow Communists set up the first peasant soviet in 1927.