Fall from grace: China leadership contender Bo Xilai sacked

Lintao Zhang / Getty Images

Bo Xilai attends the closing session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at the Great Hall of the People on Tuesday in Beijing, China.

By NBC News, msnbc.com staff and news services

BEIJING -- Ambitious Chinese Communist Party leadership contender Bo Xilai has been sacked from his post as head of the city of Chongqing in a dramatic move that exposes growing ideological divisions just as a new generation readies to take power.

His abrupt downfall, announced on Thursday by the official Xinhua news agency, threatens to kindle tension between his supporters, who favor a more traditional, state-dominated version of socialism, and liberal critics, who saw him as a dangerous opportunist.

Bo was removed as party boss of Chongqing, a sprawling urban region in the southwest, a day after being rebuked by Premier Wen Jiabao in a news conference broadcast across the country. More >>