Bo Guagua

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Bo.
Bo Kuangyi
薄旷逸
Born (1987-12-17) 17 December 1987 (age 36)
NationalityChinese
Other namesBo Jinggua (薄京瓜),[1] Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜)
EducationBeijing Jingshan School Harrow School
Alma materBalliol College, Oxford
Harvard Kennedy School
Columbia Law School
OccupationBusinessman
Parent(s)Bo Xilai
Gu Kailai
RelativesLi Wangzhi (half-brother) Sabrina Chen Xiaodan (ex-girlfriend)
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese薄旷逸
Traditional Chinese薄曠逸
Bo Guagua
Chinese薄瓜瓜

Bo Kuangyi[2] (born 17 December 1987), more commonly known as Bo Guagua,[3] is the second son of former Chinese politician Bo Xilai and the only child of Gu Kailai, his father's second wife.

Biography[edit]

Bo attended Harrow School, read PPE at Oxford University, and studied for a master's degree at Harvard University.[4]

In 2016, Bo, graduated from Columbia Law School, with a Juris Doctor degree.[5]

Because his father was a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official, Bo Guagua's life has been an occasional topic of news media gossip, which intensified, and gained considerable international attention when his father was removed from office in March 2012.

Both his parents came under investigation in the alleged homicide of family friend, Neil Heywood, who also reportedly helped Bo during his time in the UK.[6]

Bo's father is often described as a "princeling" (offspring of CCP elite); his lifestyle, and privileges typify those of fuerdai, and far exceed those of regular Chinese people of his age.[6][7]

As of December 2019 he was living in Canada and working for the Power Corporation for two and a half years as a business analyst. This corporation is owned by the Desmarais family, who have maintained close ties to the Bo family for three generations.[8]

Early life and education[edit]

Family[edit]

Bo's father, Bo Xilai, was a high-profile CCP official and Politburo member until his removal from office in 2012. His paternal grandfather, Bo Yibo, was a prominent revolutionary leader and one of the Eight Elders of the CCP.

Bo's mother is Gu Kailai. She is a lawyer who also hails from a prominent family; her father Gu Jingsheng, was a Communist revolutionary. Her mother Fan Chengxiu was a descendant of the renowned Song dynasty prime minister and poet Fan Zhongyan.[9] Gu is the second wife of Bo Xilai.[10]

Bo has a half brother "Brendan" Li Wangzhi (李望知), from his father's first marriage to Li Danyu. Brendan obtained his master's degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs in 2003.[11]

Life in the UK[edit]

At the age of 12 Bo began studying at Papplewick School in England,[12] then went on to Harrow School.[13] Bo was the first Chinese citizen to attend Harrow.[6]

He attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics.[6] He had an active social life and in his second year he ran unsuccessfully for a prominent position in the Oxford Union, a debating society.[6] Bo struggled in his academic work and was required to sit further exams to maintain his grades.[14] According to classmates, Bo failed the exams and was "rusticated" (suspended) for one year.[6][15] Three Chinese diplomats went to see Dr Andrew Graham, the Master of Balliol College, and sought to have the rustication revoked, explaining that Bo's academic probation would be a source of embarrassment to his father and grandfather in China.[6][14][16] The request to reinstate Bo was denied.[6] The following year, Bo achieved "respectable marks" during his final exams, according to The New York Times,[6] and passed with a 2:1 degree (upper second class honours) overall, having obtained first class honours in Philosophy.[17] Notwithstanding, The New York Times asserted that Bo's tutors declined to provide him with recommendations for his application to Harvard.[6]

After his suspension at Oxford, Bo reportedly lived in a luxury flat at the Randolph Hotel.[6][16] A front-page story in The Wall Street Journal alleged that he was seen stepping out of a red Ferrari wearing a tuxedo in early 2011 at the residence of then-U.S. ambassador Jon Huntsman Jr.[18] This anecdote was later challenged by The New York Times, which reported that Huntsman's daughter had been picked up by the function's organisers, while Bo had arrived at the function in a chauffeur-driven Audi, and was not wearing a tuxedo.[19] Bo organised trips to China for his classmates and invited Jackie Chan to appear at a function at Oxford.[6] During his time at Oxford, Bo was featured in the Chinese edition of Esquire.[6]

Bo's university directory page with Oxford describes him as the founder of the Guagua Internet Company, which isn’t well known.[4]

Education in the United States[edit]

He was ultimately admitted to the Masters program in public policy at its Kennedy School of Government,[6] from which he graduated in May 2012.[20] He enrolled in Columbia Law School beginning Fall 2013.[11]

Personal life[edit]

Funding controversies[edit]

After his father was stripped of all official titles by the Chinese Communist Party, there was much public speculation about how he was able to go to private schools in the UK and the US on his father's salary of $20,000 per year. The private Harrow School he attended costs $48,000 per year; then Oxford University's tuition alone costs about $25,000 per year; Harvard University's Kennedy School requires about $70,000 a year for both tuition and living expenses.[21] Bo's three-year course at Columbia, one of the most expensive law schools in the United States charges tuition and other fees of more than $60,000 a year, on top of which living expenses have to be factored in.[11]

The Wall Street Journal reported that he was living at a luxury apartment in Cambridge, Massachusetts at a monthly cost of approximately $2,600. He was also reported to drive a $80,000 black Porsche sports car, having collected violations for running stop signs in December 2010 and May 2011, and for speeding in February 2012.[22]

On 24 April 2012, Harvard University school newspaper, The Harvard Crimson, published a statement by Bo, in which he stated that his tuition and living expenses were "funded exclusively by two sources—scholarships earned independently, and my mother's generosity from the savings she earned from her years as a successful lawyer and writer."[11][23] He denied that he had ever driven a Ferrari.[19] On the other hand, his father told the Chinese news media that his son was on full scholarship and his wife was a successful lawyer, but she was afraid of people spreading rumors, so she closed down her law office a long time ago.[24] At the trial of Bo Xilai that started on 22 August 2013, businessman Xu Ming testified that he paid for Bo Guagua's travel and credit card bills, although during cross-examination Bo Xilai challenged many of the payments.[25]

Public image[edit]

Bo's lifestyle was the subject of gossip and public interest, both internationally and within China, in the 2010s, and it led to the coining of a new verb – "to guagua", which, according to The Independent, alludes to his charm, wealth, and abundant political connections.[14] Bo's lifestyle was in stark contrast to his father's efforts to revive a "red culture" movement in Chongqing, which included the singing of revolutionary songs and promotion of Maoist slogans.[7] The conspicuous consumption and privilege of the children of Chinese leaders such as Bo Guagua is a source of widespread resentment within China.[7] Unlike some children of party leaders who maintain a low profile, Bo cultivated an unusually public persona.[6] When Bo Xilai was suspended from his party positions, party leaders listed the younger Bo's behavior as one of the causes.[6][26] Bo's lifestyle as a playboy, having been widely circulated in the international press, is widely suspected of being an embarrassment to Communist Party leadership in Beijing, who have made it known that they are eager for him to return to China to face prosecution for corruption.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 薄瓜瓜 薄瓜瓜 (in Chinese). cctv.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013.
  2. ^ Keith Zhai keith.zhai@scmp.com (19 September 2013). "Bo Xilai jail letter: My name will be cleared one day". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 23 September 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  3. ^ 薄瓜瓜答问摘录 (in Chinese). Southern Weekend. 2 July 2009. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013.
  4. ^ a b Tania Branigan, Bo Xilai's family in spotlight over website bought for $100,000 Archived 10 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 25 April 2012.
  5. ^ "Bo Xilai's son Bo Guagua continues his studies at Columbia University". South China Morning Post. 29 July 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Andrew Jacobs and Dan Levin, Son’s Parties and Privilege Aggravate Fall of Elite Chinese Family Archived 13 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times, 16 April 2012.
  7. ^ a b c Page, Jeremy "Children of the Revolution" Archived 5 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Wall Street Journal. 26 November 2011.
  8. ^ Montreal’s Power Corp. deepens ties with China’s prominent Bo family
  9. ^ "Wife of sacked Chongqing boss a woman of many talents" Archived 23 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Want China Times 19 March 2012.
  10. ^ Jeremy Page, Brian Spegele, and Steve Eder, "'Jackie Kennedy of China' at Center of Political Drama" Archived 18 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Wall Street Journal, 6 April 2012.
  11. ^ a b c d Wong, Edward; Qin, Amy (29 July 2013) "Son of Fallen Chinese Official Enrolls at Columbia Law School" Archived 7 November 2017 at the Wayback Machine. The New York Times
  12. ^ Patrick Sawer, Josie Ensor and Richard Eden, Neil Heywood mystery: Gilded lifestyle of murder suspect's son Bo Guagua Archived 23 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine, The Daily Telegraph, 14 April 2012.
  13. ^ Martin Beckford, Neil Heywood 'gave Bo Xilai's financial secrets to lawyer before his death', The Daily Telegraph, 13 April 2012.
  14. ^ a b c d James Rothwell (10 September 2013). "Bo Guagua: The student playboy whose lavish lifestyle could be his downfall - as father Bo Xilai faces prosecution". The Independent.
  15. ^ Melinda Liu, Neil Heywood & China’s Bo Xilai Scandal: Drinker, Sailor, Fixer, Spy?, Newsweek, 30 March 2012.
  16. ^ a b Holehouse, Matthew (13 April 2012). Neil Heywood mystery: Bo Guagua, the student playboy who earned contempt of tutors, and forced Chinese diplomats into pleading his case, The Daily Telegraph.
  17. ^ Bo, Guagua (24 April 2012). "An Exclusive Statement from Bo Guagua to The Harvard Crimson" Archived 27 May 2012 at the Wayback Machine. The Harvard Crimson
  18. ^ Page, Jeremy (9 March 2012). "China's Red Star Denies Son Drives a Red Ferrari". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 14 April 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
  19. ^ a b Barboza; David; Wong, Edward (1 May 2012). "Details Are Refuted in Tale of Bo Guagua's Red Ferrari". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2 May 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  20. ^ The Daily Telegraph (2012). Reuters: Bo Xilai's son graduates from Harvard Archived 14 October 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  21. ^ Shanghaiist (21 May 2012). "Washington Post peers into princelings educated abroad". Shanghaiist.com.
  22. ^ "Bo's Son Ticketed in Porsche". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  23. ^ Guagua, Bo (31 October 2013). "An Exclusive Statement from Bo Guagua to". The Harvard Crimson. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 25 May 2012.
  24. ^ 薄熙来：夫人担心有人造谣关掉律师事务所 做家务陪伴我 (in Chinese). 龙虎网站. 11 March 2012. Archived from the original on 24 August 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  25. ^ "Bo Xilai trial as blogged by the court – Day One". BBC. 22 August 2013. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  26. ^ Mosettig, Michael D. (7 November 2012). "Red Ferraris in Red China". PBS NewsHour. Archived from the original on 8 November 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
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