2012-03-28

Bo Xilai's allies continue to lose power

Another of Bo's men sidelined in Chongqing
Chongqing municipal people's congress chairman, Chen Cungen , has been removed from the southwestern municipality's Communist Party standing committee, local media said yesterday. It is the latest twist following the dismissal as party secretary Bo Xilai just under a fortnight ago.

Meanwhile, a campaign spearheaded by Bo that encouraged the singing of "red" or revolutionary songs, which was also criticised as a throwback to the days of the Cultural Revolution, appears to be being gradually phased out.
Red songs are not popular with ordinary Chinese, so this news will be welcomed. Also on a positive note for average citizens of Chongqing, they will be able to watch normal television programming once more:
On the red-songs front, the city's propaganda department head, He Shizhong, told lower-level heads from across the municipality at a meeting on Monday that there was room for improvement in a range of activities, including the reading of classic literature, the telling of revolutionary stories and the spreading of mottoes, the Chongqing Daily reported yesterday.

He was also quoted as saying that one of the priorities for Chongqing Cable TV was to boost its ratings and influence.

The broadcaster's ratings and revenue dropped significantly when Bo ran the city after it was ordered to drop popular prime-time series and commercials to make way for programmes extolling revolutionary ideals. Chongqing Cable TV will now run "red" programming once a week rather than every day. Station officials have also been quoted as saying that it would soon begin accepting commercials.

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