These days even seasoned China-watchers are having trouble knowing what is going on. But it is clear that political tensions are high in Beijing following the dismissal of the Communist Party chief of Chongqing, Bo Xilai, on March 15th. Mr Bo's opponents appear to be tightening the noose around him. At the same time, a sudden clampdown on internet gossip suggests the authorities fear that the party's internal battles could trigger wider unrest. Since the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, China's leaders have elevated unity over all else. In the build-up to those protests, open evidence of splits in the leadership emboldened reform-minded intellectuals and students to step up demands for political change.
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