Yul Kwon:
So who is Bo Xilai, and why is his fall from power so important? To put the story in context, we have journalist Maureen Fan on Skype with us today. Maureen was the Beijing bureau chief for the Washington Post. She's been reporting on aspects of the story from Berkeley, California. Thanks for joining us, Maureen.

Maureen Fan:
Thanks for having me.

Yul Kwon:
If this is the biggest shakeup since Tiananmen, why would CCTV bury the story so deep into its newscast?

Maureen Fan:
This is dirty laundry that they'd rather not air. It's the first time in recent memory that someone this high up has been connected to a murder investigation involving a foreigner. And it's upset the scripted rollout of a once-in-a-decade political transition. This is behind-the-scenes stuff that's not normally out in public.

Yul Kwon:
Several weeks ago, we reported that Bo Xilai was fired from his position as party chief of the huge city of Chongqing. Can you explain who he is, and why he matters in Chinese politics?

Maureen Fan:
Bo Xilai is, or was, an ambitious and brash media-savvy politician and populist, who wanted a seat on the Standing Committee of the Politburo, which is China's top decision-making body. And in Chongqing, he expanded programs for the poor, he launched a nationalistic anti-corruption campaign, which he was trying to use to hold up the city as a model for the rest of the country. So he's huge; he had a big following, he's also the son of a revolutionary hero and a so-called "princeling" allied with other wealthy elites and hardliners who really believe in the power of the state enterprise. So he made people nervous, he made reformers, technocrats, and advocates for the private sector nervous with his style and his nostalgia for Mao ideology.

Yul Kwon:
For weeks, there have been rumors that Bo and his wife were tied to corruption, and more recently his wife has been named as a potential suspect in a murder. But explain why the story is more than just a murder mystery.

Maureen Fan:
It really does have all the makings of a spy novel. But there are just so many unanswered questions about what else we don't know; about what the British man, Neil Haywood, was poisoned with; about possible other mysterious disappearances of people close to the family during his anti-corruption campaign; whether these details are maybe just a way to permanently sideline someone who still has powerful supporters.

Yul Kwon:
Bo Xilai is known to be a prominent hardliner in within the Party. Now that he's been removed, what do you think this means China's future?

Maureen Fan:
It's a good question. There are a number of experts who say that reformers seem to have the upper hand at the moment, or that this has given them a platform to argue that there can't really be economic reform without political reform. And the outgoing premier has said this. But it's really unclear I think, whether they'll succeed. The new leadership has to come up with a bunch of reforms that can keep everyone happy, all the different factions, all the different vested interests.

Yul Kwon:
Later on we'll be showing a story about how China is cracking down on social media. This story itself has been fueled by social media rumors. Is the crackdown, in your view, related to the whole Bo Xilai affair?

Maureen Fan:
Some say the attention this time may have forced officials to act more quickly, more decisively than they would have in years past, and these are not rumors about a run on salt, for example. This is a huge, huge story that some people online are saying has actually validated the rumors. In China, rumors are not all created equal. Some do turn out to be true.

Yul Kwon:
Thanks, Maureen. Maureen Fan is a journalist based in San Francisco and an advisor to LinkAsia. You can learn more about her on our website, linkasia.org, and follow her on Twitter @maureenfan.