Many China watchers were stunned by the announcement of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on March 15 that prominent Party leader Bo Xilai had been removed from his post. For the past several years, Bo Xilai was a rising star in Communist China’s firmament. Many western observers have speculated that he would one day be China’s “paramount leader.” As Party Secretary governing Chongqing (formerly Chungking), a sprawling megalopolis of 30 million people, Bo appeared to be on the way up. He was a member of the national 24-member governing Politburo and was expected by many to be...