Bo Xilai, the former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) chief in Chongqing who was sentenced last year to life in prison for bribery, embezzlement, and abuse of power, spent two decades in an area within Shenyang, including in stints as Mayor of Dalian City and Governor of Liaoning Province. Exploiting popular discontent fueled by rapidly rising inequality, Bo, who had been widely viewed as a likely candidate for a top leadership position in the Politburo Standing Committee, adopted a neo-Maoist stance that China’s top leadership could not abide.
去年因受贿、贪污和滥用职权罪入狱的前中共重庆市委书记薄熙来在沈阳所在地区经营了二十年，历任大连市长、辽宁省长。利用群众对不平等性的迅速恶化的不满，曾被广泛视为政治局常委有力人选的薄熙来采取了中国最高层领导无法容忍的新毛泽东主义。