Sackings of two party bosses bookend Shanghai Gang's rise and fall
The dismissal of Shanghai's top leader yesterday marked the end of an era that saw a group of politicians known as the Shanghai Gang, led by former president Jiang Zemin, rise from the mainland's prime economic hub to dominate Chinese politics.
The downfall of Chen Liangyu, Shanghai's Communist Party secretary and a member of the party's powerful Politburo, also suggests the new national leadership headed by President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao has consolidated its grip on power, four years after coming to office.
Mr Chen is the highest-ranking official to be felled by a graft probe since Mr Hu succeeded Mr Jiang as party chief in 2002.
'The downfall of Chen Liangyu marks the end of the Jiang Zemin era, suggesting the former leader is now in no position to protect his political prestige and in no position to influence Chinese politics,' said Joseph Cheng Yu-shek of City University of Hong Kong.
During Mr Jiang's 15 years in power, the so-called Shanghai Gang spread its roots throughout the central government, supported by its connections to Mr Jiang, who served as mayor of Shanghai before going to Beijing.
