China tells military to ignore rumours, shuts pro-Bo website

BEIJING, April 6 (Reuters) China's top military newspaper told troops on Friday to ignore online rumours and authorities shut a left-wing website that has decried the ousting of populist official Bo Xilai, as the ruling Communist Party fought jitters over a leadership transition.

The Liberation Army Daily did not mention outlandish rumours of a foiled coup in Beijing that spread on the Internet in past weeks, after the abrupt ousting of Bo, an ambitious contender for a spot in the new central leadership to be unveiled at a party congress later this year.

A commentary in the newspaper, however, left no doubt the party leadership wants to inoculate People's Liberation Army (PLA) troops against rumours about coups or political divisions that could erode the authority of President Hu Jintao, who is also head of the party and chairman of the Central Military Commission which commands the PLA.

The paper admonished soldiers to "resolutely resist the incursion of all kinds of erroneous ideas, not be disturbed by noise, not be affected by rumours, and not be drawn by undercurrents, and ensure that at all times and under all circumstances the military absolutely obeys the command of the Party central leadership, the Central Military Commission and Chairman Hu."

Although the coup rumours were unfounded, their spread and the government's tightening of Internet controls and warnings to ignore such talk have reflected jitters about stability after Bo's fall. The Communist Party has always regarded its absolute grip on the PLA as its ultimate bulwark of power, and so the government is acutely sensitive about any signs of discord in the military.

The PLA has also been shaken by a separate corruption scandal in the run-up to the party leadership change, said Chen Ziming, an independent scholar of politics in Beijing. "I think both incidents generated tensions and uncertainty,

and in the military the case of Gu Junshan is a source of tensions," said Chen, referring to PLA Lieutenant General Gu, whose downfall for apparent corruption emerged this year.