Chinese Communist Party in Crisis
An Interactive Timeline of Events
The year 2012 was supposed to see a smooth transition of power in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It wasn't to be. On Feb. 6 Wang Lijun, the Chinese police chief of the southwestern city of Chongqing, entered a nearby United States consulate attempting to defect. The political fallout from that incident led to a series of high-profile scandals, like timed explosions, that has brought into sharp question the legitimacy of Communist Party rule and its "leadership role" in Chinese society. Now, the continued rule of the Party in China is a question that will not go away.
02.02.2012
Wang Lijun removed from his job
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Wang Lijun removed from his job as chief of the Public Security Bureau in Chongqing. Read More
02.06.2012
Wang Lijun attempts to defect at US Consulate
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Wang Lijun attempts to defect at U.S. Consulate in Chengdu City, 200 miles from Chongqing.
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02.07.2012
Police cars surround the US Consulate in Chengdu
Many photos appear on microblogs that show police cars surrounding the consulate while Wang Lijun is inside. It appears Bo Xilai caught wind of Wang’s whereabouts and tried to intercept.
02.08.2012
Wang Lijun is sent to Beijing
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- Wang Lijun is sent to Beijing—according to a leaked flight ticket—and put under investigation by the Central Disciplinary Committee. Read More
- Chongqing City Hall says Wang Lijun is on “vacation-style medical treatment.” Read More
- Chongqing City Hall says Wang Lijun is on “vacation-style medical treatment.” Read More
02.11.2012
Bo Xilai meets with Canadian Prime Minister
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Bo Xilai meets with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, but without posing for a public photo.
02.14.2012
Xi Jinping, the next Chinese leader, visits the US
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Xi Jinping, the next Chinese regime leader, visits the United States.
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02.15.2012
Washington Free Beacon says Wang Lijun provided key information to the US government
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- Washington Free Beacon says Wang Lijun provided key information to the U.S. government about Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang and how they plan to thwart Xi Jinping’s rise to the top of the CCP.
- Guan Haixiang, a Hu Jintao loyalist, is made new public security bureau secretary in Chongqing, taking over from Wang Lijun. Read More
- Guan Haixiang, a Hu Jintao loyalist, is made new public security bureau secretary in Chongqing, taking over from Wang Lijun. Read More
02.16.2012
US House members order investigation into Wang Lijun's defection
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U.S. House members order investigation into the administration’s handling of Wang Lijun’s attempted defection and any information he may have passed to consular officials.
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02.17.2012
Bo Xilai absent from important meeting
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Bo Xilai absent from important meeting in Chongqing.
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02.26.2012
First opening of Chinese Internet firewall
First apparent opening of Chinese Internet firewall, as Obama’s Google+ page is inundated with comments from Chinese citizens. Whether it was a deliberate opening or a bug remains unclear.
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02.28.2012
Wang Lijun involved in live organ harvesting
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Information about Wang Lijun being involved in live organ harvesting emerges.
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03.09.2012
Bo Xilai makes a defensive speech
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Bo Xilai makes a defensive speech at an important political meeting in Beijing.
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03.14.2012
Wen Jiabao criticizes Bo Xilai at a news conference
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Wen Jiabao criticizes Bo Xilai during a news conference on the last day of the National People’s Congress in Beijing.
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03.15.2012
Bo Xilai is fired
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Wang Lijun scandal and attendant political struggle costs him job.
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03.16.2012
Former Bo Xilai ally turns against him
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Former Bo Xilai ally, Chongqing Mayor Huang Qifan, turns against Bo and says publicly that he supports the central leadership’s decision to sack him.
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03.19.2012
Rumors of a paramilitary presence and a coup in Beijing
Rumors fly that there is a paramilitary presence in downtown Beijing and a coup is underway.
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03.20.2012
Bo Xilai arrested, second opening of Chinese firewall
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- Bo Xilai is rumored to be under house arrest. Read More
- Second apparent unblocking of Chinese firewall; searches related to The Epoch Times, June 4, and Falun Gong for a period of time in China. Read More
- Second apparent unblocking of Chinese firewall; searches related to The Epoch Times, June 4, and Falun Gong for a period of time in China. Read More
03.21.2012
Rumors say that Zhou Yongkang has been “controlled” internally
Rumors say that Zhou Yongkang has been “controlled” internally. A source later tells The Financial Times the same thing.
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03.22.2012
Global Times publishes editorial, Zhou Yongkang missing from meeting
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- Global Times, a Chinese regime mouthpiece, publishes an editorial asking for clarification on what is going on amid the political upheaval.
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- Zhou Yongkang missing from high-level meeting in Shanghai. Read More
- Zhou Yongkang missing from high-level meeting in Shanghai. Read More
03.23.2012
Zhou Yongkang meets Indonesia foreign minister
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Zhou Yongkang meets Marty M. Natalegawa, the Indonesia foreign minister, but not Zhou’s counterpart, in Beijing.
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03.26.2012
Jiang Zemin said to be in a vegetative state
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Former Party leader Jiang Zemin is in a vegetative state, relying on medical devices and infusions to keep him alive, according to an individual in China with knowledge of the circumstances. Read More
03.28.2012
Epoch Times publishes editorial about Party’s end
The Epoch Times publishes an editorial discussing the end of the Chinese Communist Party and how a stable and prosperous China will subsequently emerge. Read More
03.29.2012
Epoch Times website attacked
Amidst aggressive reporting on leadership splits within the Communist Party, and in particular on the behavior of security chief Zhou Yongkang, The Epoch Times is hit with a series of cyber attacks beginning on March 29. An unsuccessful distributed denial of service attack first targets epochtimes.com, before follow-up attacks on connected servers on the morning of April 1.
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03.30.2012
Hu announces control over military
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A military newspaper prints a warning for opponents of Party chief Hu Jintao that Hu is in control of the military.
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04.02.2012
Epoch Times web traffic jumps 400 percent
Traffic to the Chinese version of The Epoch Times rapidly increases in the context of reporting on the Chinese regime crisis. Website traffic jumps from 1 million pageviews a day to 4 million according to Alexa.com, a website traffic management service. Later in the month, it jumps to 6 million.
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04.05.2012
Leadership awakens memories of June 4
Dozens of Chinese newspapers run articles commemorating former Chinese leader Hu Yaobang, whose memory is closely connected with the Tiananmen massacre of 1989, and has been tightly censored until now.
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04.09.2012
Party newspaper reflects split in leadership
Beijing Daily on March 31 declared that “the general secretary should not be the highest authority over the party’s Central Committee,” and that “collective leadership should be emphasized.” Four days later, it reversed itself. The previous article is deleted, and a prominent editorial runs, saying: “Keep firmly in mind the general secretary’s earnest instructions.” The competing pronouncements indicate sharp disagreements about the direction of the Communist Party.
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04.10.2012
Bo Xilai is removed from his Party posts
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Bo Xilai is removed from his Party posts, and put under the investigation of the CCP’s disciplinary committee.
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04.12.2012
Chinese Internet goes down, possible ‘kill switch’
Chinese netizens are unable to access foreign websites for close to two hours. Outside observers and Internet experts speculate that it may have been a trial run of an Internet “kill switch” by the leadership. Chinese Internet providers, which are state owned, do not shed any light on the matter.
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04.14.2012
People’s Daily publishes an editorial against Zhou Yongkang
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People’s Daily publishes an editorial titled, “No one should think that criminal charges won’t be pursued against top Party officials,” pointing to Zhou Yongkang.
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04.15.2012
Party’s 18th Congress may be postponed, reports say
News emerges that the Chinese Communist Party’s 18th National Congress, originally scheduled for October, may be postponed as a result of intensified struggle in the leadership sparked by the Bo Xilai affair, according to insiders.
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04.16.2012
Party leaders divided on handling security czar
Top leaders of the Party are currently split over how to publicly deal with Zhou Yongkang and the investigation surrounding him, a source from Beijing tells The Epoch Times. The source reveals that Premier Wen Jiabao pushed for Zhou’s crimes against Falun Gong to be exposed, including the widespread use of torture and cases of Falun Gong practitioners being killed for their organs.
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04.18.2012
Party websites become target of anonymous attack
The Political and Legislative Affairs Committee’s branch website in Dalian City is hacked. The slogans “Take Down the Chinese Communist Party” and “Chinese Communist Party Tomb” were posted on its home page. Overseas democracy activist Song Yuxuan said Chinese people are expressing their discontent with the regime. Song said he believes these are young Chinese hackers. “It is very heartening to see the Chinese people awakening,” he said.
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04.27.2012
Blind Chinese lawyer Chen Guangcheng escapes custody
While political scandal continues to roil the Party, a blind lawyer who had been extralegally detained in his house, and repeatedly beaten by security forces, managed to scale a fence, escape guards, and make his way to Beijing. Chen Guangcheng was taken in by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, whose staff then began negotiations with infuriated Chinese officials about Chen’s fate.
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05.01.2012
Beijing leaders said to consider end of communist rule
According to a high-level source in Beijing, key leaders in the Politburo have reached four points of consensus, whose implementation would effectively end one-party rule in the country.
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05.02.2012
Chen Guangcheng leaves U.S. Embassy
Chen Guangcheng leaves U.S. Embassy in Beijing under assurances of safety from the Chinese regime. The deal quickly unravels on the same day, however.
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05.03.2012
Founder of Falun Dafa publishes poem “To Choose”
- A poem by the founder of the spiritual practice Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong) invites reflection on the drama unfolding in China today and the broader moral questions associated with it.
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- Epoch Times editorial: Everyone—in and out of China—must decide on which side they stand. Read More
- Epoch Times editorial: Everyone—in and out of China—must decide on which side they stand. Read More
05.12.2012
Wen Jiabao, Zhou Yongkang face off in Politburo meeting
Wen Jiabao questions Zhou Yongkang’s connections to Bo Xilai at a Politburo meeting, and calls for an investigation into the matter. Zhou then brings up rumors of Wen’s wife’s corruption, and calls for an investigation into her as well. Wen replies that he has no problems with his family being investigated, as he is certain that they have not been involved in any corruption.
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05.13.2012
Power taken from Chinese security czar Zhou Yongkang
The Chinese regime’s domestic security chief, Zhou Yongkang, has handed over the reins of power of China’s security forces to deputy Meng Jianzhu, according to a Financial Times report. The “effective removal from power” actually took place some weeks ago.
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05.14.2012
Petition by 300 villagers circulated in politburo
A petition signed by 300 Chinese village households, urging the authorities to release a Falun Gong practitioner, is circulated in the Politburo Standing Committee, shocking many members. The petition is signed with the thumbprints and full names of each of the 300 households’ representatives. The villagers are later harassed by authorities, but most do not give in.
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05.17.2012
Senior CCP officials demand Zhou Yongkang’s removal
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Top Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials demanded the ouster of Chinese security czar Zhou Yongkang, in a news report that appeared on a major Chinese Internet portal on Thursday, possibly circumventing state-censorship regarding the subject for a brief period of time before it was taken down.
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05.20.2012
Zhou Yongkang placed under investigation
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Damning evidence against Bo Xilai is presented at a Politburo meeting. Wen Jiabao voices his suspicions that Zhou Yongkang has close ties with Bo, and calls for Zhou to be placed under investigation. Hu Jintao agrees to the investigation.
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06.11.2012
Top Chinese official hedges bets, switches allegiance
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Politburo Standing Committee member Jia Qinglin takes steps to distance himself from Jiang Zemin and his allies. He had played an unusually active role in the removal of Bo Xilai—a show of allegiance to the new generation of leaders, headed by Xi.
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06.22.2012
Bo Xilai’s wife reportedly admits to murder
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Gu Kailai, the wife of scandal-ridden Chinese politician Bo Xilai, confesses to murdering British businessman Neil Heywood to halt him from revealing her financial misdeeds.
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Major Players
Hu Jintao
CURRENT PARTY LEADER
Took over from Jiang Zemin. Intent on preserving legacy. Faces tough decisions over fate of Party amidst current political upheaval, historical crimes, and leadership split.
Jiang Zemin
FORMER PARTY LEADER
Initiated the persecution of Falun Gong. Promoted Bo Xilai and Zhou Yongkang for pushing the campaign forward, oversees crumbling Party bloc.
Wen Jiabao
STATE PREMIER
Known as a reformer but true colors yet to be seen. Known foe of Bo Xilai and argued against his promotion.
Zhou Yongkang
SECURITY CZAR
Party hardliner and Jiang loyalist. Rose through ranks for role in persecution of Falun Gong. Faces possible political purge for working with Bo to undermine leadership.
Xi Jinping
NEXT PARTY LEADER
Vice premier and vice chair of military commission. Understood to align with Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao. Reportedly target of coup plot hatched by Jiang faction members Bo and Zhou.
Bo Xilai
FORMER CHONGQING BOSS
Jiang loyalist and Zhou confidant. Rose through ranks for role in persecution of Falun Gong. Career destroyed after attempting to thwart Xi’s rise and seize power.
Wang Lijun
FORMER CHONGQING POLICE CHIEF
Attempted defection set in motion the greatest political scandal and leadership upset in recent Party history. Betrayed former boss Bo Xilai. Now in custody in Beijing.