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[RA][:794:] [:794:] [:794:] [/RA]Power play brings down Shanghai boss  
By Quentin Sommerville
BBC News, Shanghai  



Analysts say the clock has been ticking for Mr Chen
Chen Liangyu was the top political figure in China's richest city, Shanghai.

Following his public sacking on Monday, he is now the most senior head to roll since President Hu Jintao took office in 2003.

Mr Chen is accused of being involved in multi-million dollar scandal, in which money from the city's social security fund was illegally invested in a road toll project and in Shanghai's wildly speculative property market.

Two city officials have already been sacked as part of an ongoing investigation.

Shanghai is China's richest city, but it also has the largest number of pensioners dependent on the city's social security fund. As much as a third of the fund may have been misappropriated.

  It shows trust in our system, that the boss of the most economically significant city in China can be sacked

Shen Dingli

The city's wealth has given it a degree of independence not enjoyed by other Chinese cities. But that may now be under threat, as Beijing increases its scrutiny of the financial capital.

Shanghai's stock market dropped by only 0.2% in reaction to the news.

But property stocks dropped by 5%, with some investors worried that there would be a tighter regulatory environment imposed from Beijing.