No rift in Chinese Communist Party: Report

Bo, former head of the Chongqing municipality, The Global Times said, is being probed for indiscipline but the action against him has attracted widespread attention in the West.

The paper said that Westerners were interpreting the case as being related to a "political fight", but it was a case of party discipline and Chinese laws. "What is going on is the inevitable result of a lawful investigation," the paper said, claiming that it was an exaggeration to say that the case mirrors China`s political fight. The stir around Bo`s case will fade soon. The idea that China might fall into a so-called magnified struggle, due to such an incident, has long become history," it claimed.

While Bo was sacked from all posts in the party and the government for indiscipline, his wife Gu Kalai and orderly have been arrested in connection with the murder of a UK businessman. Bo is facing investigation by the party for indiscipline. All three could face long prison terms and Gu could face death sentence if the murder charge is proved.

Reports from Chongqing said thousands demonstrated for two days but the government said the protests were about local issue of merging districts. The paper denied that factions representing reformists and conservatives existed in the party, as painted by the West.