China's Biggest Political Takedowns Since Mao

China's Biggest Political Takedowns Since Mao

BEIJING -- Last weekend, Chinese authorities announced the arrest of the former head of the country's internal security services, Zhou Yongkang, who became the highest-ranking Chinese official ever arrested on corruption charges.

That move marked the crowning achievement in President Xi Jinping's ongoing anti-corruption campaign, but experts say it also fits into another pattern: using corruption charges to knock off political rivals. In the interactive timeline below, we walk you through China's biggest political takedowns of the past 40 years, looking at how cracking down on graft has also reshaped political power at crucial junctures.

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