Despite the best efforts of censors, the downfall of Bo Xilai and his wife, Gu Kailai, reverberated across the internet yesterday, with stunned bloggers comparing the couple's demise to high drama.
'As a person with critical thinking I am really slow and can't follow where the plots are leading. From today I belittle all screenplays, even Shakespeare. And from now on I respect all rumours,' said Sima Nan, a leftist academic.
'Questions persist in my mind ... why was the announced truth so similar to a version of rumours that circulated online last month?'
Mainland internet users have had a field day since Tuesday, when journalists and officials began publishing hints on social media and microblogs hosted by Sina and Tencent that Bo may have been put under shuanggui, or party disciplinary action.
The simultaneous announcement of the investigation of Bo and the police probe of his wife, Gu added fuel to the internet frenzy.
'Even a Hollywood blockbuster can't be compared to this,' claimed one Sina Weibo user.