The absence of Chongqing party secretary Bo Xilai from the annual gathering of the municipality's top law enforcement officers on Thursday has fuelled yet more political speculation.
Neither Bo nor his top deputy, Chongqing mayor Huang Qifan, attended the legal and political affairs conference, the Chongqing Daily reported. Instead, the party's political and legislative affairs chief, Liu Guanglei, was the most senior official present.
The low-profile affair stood in stark contrast with last year's event, when Bo delivered a keynote speech highlighting his crackdown on organised crime, which began in 2008 and earned him notoriety throughout the country and beyond.
The campaign - led until recently by Bo's erstwhile ally and former police chief, Wang Lijun - saw hundreds of triad bosses and their followers detained and jailed, along with more than 1,000 officials accused of protecting them.
The crackdown's future has been thrown into doubt since Wang was detained after visiting the US consulate in Chengdu on February 6 in what was believed to be an unsuccessful attempt to seek political asylum. He had days earlier been relieved of his police duties.
Liu made no mention of the crackdown at the law enforcement meeting, further supporting speculation that Chongqing authorities may have ordered a halt to the controversial campaign.