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Updated Saturday, February 11, 2012 0:03 am TWN, By Scott McDonald ,AP

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Celebrity police chief spent a day at US consulate: China

BEIJING -- Beijing says a celebrity police chief linked to one of the country's rising political stars spent a day in a U.S. consulate in southwestern China amid speculation that he sought political asylum.

The U.S. State Department confirmed that former Chongqing police chief Wang Lijun visited the consulate in the city of Chengdu, but gave no details.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman's office said that Wang entered the consulate on Monday and “remained there for one day.” The statement, carried by the official Xinhua News Agency, said the incident was being investigated. Dozens of newspapers carried the Xinhua report prominently on Friday without additional reporting, a sign that official censors were trying to limit potentially embarrassing coverage.

Wang was the top police officer in Chongqing until he was mysteriously removed last week.

He stayed on as a deputy mayor and was reassigned to duties involving the local economy and education. As the city's top cop, he had helped carry out a widespread crackdown on organized crime groups seen as part of a campaign to promote Bo Xilai, the city's Communist Party secretary and one of the country's most prominent political figures.

Bo has been seen as maneuvering for a seat on the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee, which will appoint new members later this year.

Wang's whereabouts is unknown. There were several unconfirmed reports online, including one that showed a photo of Wang's name on a plane ticket from Chengdu to Beijing. The report said he had been brought to the capital for questioning by anti-corruption officials, a claim repeated by the usually reliable independent Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy in Hong Kong.

State media ran photos Friday showing Bo visiting the southwestern province of Yunnan on Wednesday and Thursday with no mention of Wang.

Wang had been one of China's most celebrated policemen, inspiring a drama on state TV lauding his personal bravery in assaulting gangs in Chongqing and the northeastern province of Liaoning.

The uncertainty has fueled speculation over a falling-out between Wang and Bo, who has been one of China's most high-profile politicians.

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