Bo's Cronies Hanging onto Power

Bo Xi Lai finally goes on trial, and a number summary dismissals were made but senior cadres have managed to cling to power in Chongqing.

The failure to remove senior officials highlights the Party's uncertainty in how is should proceed in its crackdown on graft.

Several junior officials lost their jobs or were detained because of their proximity to Bo, but Huang is one of two senior allies not purged, underlining the leadership's caution as new President Xi Jinping seeks to maintain stability and unity.

Bo's former compadres have been eager to distance the themselves from the disgraced politician. Once saying the the relationship between him and his former boss was like that between fish and water, Chongqing mayor, Huang Qi Fan now promises the people of the city that the excesses of Bo's reign will never be allowed to happen again.

Former partner in crime, Wang Li Jun is currently serving 15 years for his role in the scandal, but Huang remains comfortable in power as mayor of Chongqing. As the outgoing premier and president both denounced Bo's affection for more right wing, Maoist practices, Huang used a self criticism, a Maoist throwback to secure his own position.