BEIJING,March24,2012: Chinese censors have blocked internet content speculating a military coup amid reports of serious power struggle within the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that threatens to disrupt a smooth transition of power when its general secretary and President Hu Jintao completes his term later this year. The struggle has come to the fore after the party's Chongqing city head Bo Xilai was removed from his post as his deputy had reportedly sought asylum in the US. Bo, who is a CCP founding member's son, was a contender for the party's top post. Insiders describe the struggle as one between the group representing princelings -- the offspring of old revolutionaries -- and those opposing them. Vice president Xi Jinping, a princeling, is seen as Hu's successor. "Some people at the top are childhood friends and children of national heroes. There is a group supporting these princelings and another one opposing it," a university teacher, who is closely associated with the CCP, told TOI. He is among millions of excited Communist cadre watching the unfolding drama. Many of them have been posting "information'' about the alleged coup and photographs of tanks and armored vehicles on Beijing's streets on Chinese version of Twitter -- Weibo. But reports said some of the pictures were old ones from military rehearsals. Experts said the rumors gained much traction due to the prevailing political situation in the country and the talk about infighting ahead of the CCP once-in-a-decade leadership shuffle. The ongoing struggle is also about the fight for supremacy between the party's pro-reform and the hardcore pro-Maoists sections. The Maoist faction still exerts some influence in China. Bo, who was tipped for a position in the CCP's powerful politburo standing committee, has a huge following among the hardline elements because he has been the only leader openly advocating Mao Zedong's policies and opposing the "capitalist class" produced by the party's new economic policies. Bo's removal led to suspicions that the pro-reform section was trying to completely wipe out the other group. The party gave Bo an opportunity to publicly explain himself at a press conference, which was attended by the foreign media. This was a rare exception made for a party member under a cloud, partly because he wields great influence in both the party and the People's Liberation Army. In fact, Beijing is agog with rumors that a section of the PLA is determined to protect Bo in case criminal charges are pressed against him.
