China cracks down on rumours, removes 210,000 online posts

Beijing, April 12 (IANS) China has removed more than 210,000 online posts since mid-March and shut down 42 websites in its crackdown on Internet-based rumour-mongering, Xinhua quoted a senior official as saying Thursday.

The move comes after Bo Xilai, a rising star of the Chinese political scene, was demoted from the country's powerful politburo after his wife was named by police as a prime suspect in the murder of a British businessman.

Bogu Kailai, whose husband, Bo Xilai, 62, had been tipped as a future leader of China, is being investigated over the death of Neil Heywood. He died in November.

Police initially said Heywood, 41, had died from excessive drinking, but suspicions of foul play led to the British government repeatedly asking for a new investigation.

Bo was dismissed as party chief in the south-west city of Chongqing last month after his police chief spent over an hour in the city's US consulate in an apparent asylum bid.