Bo Kuangyi[2] (born 17 December 1987), more commonly known as Bo Guagua,[3] is a British-Chinese businessman and lawyer. The second son of former Chinese politician Bo Xilai and the only child of Gu Kailai, he attracted media attention for his family background and lifestyle, often being described as a "red aristocrat" and "playboy."[4][5] After his parents were arrested in 2012, he has lived in exile and kept a low profile.
Bo Guagua | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
薄旷逸 | |||||||
_crop.jpg) | |||||||
| Born | Kuangyi Bo 17 December 1987 | ||||||
| Other names | Bo Jinggua (薄京瓜),[1] Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜) | ||||||
| Citizenship | United Kingdom | ||||||
| Education | Harrow School Balliol College, Oxford (BA) Harvard University (MPP) Columbia University (JD) | ||||||
| Occupation | Businessman | ||||||
| Parent(s) | Bo Xilai Gu Kailai | ||||||
| Relatives | Li Wangzhi (half-brother) | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 薄旷逸 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 薄曠逸 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Bo Guagua | |||||||
| Chinese | 薄瓜瓜 | ||||||
| |||||||
Early life and family
editBo was born to a prominent political family in Beijing as Kuangyi, meaning "a remarkable talent of many ages", named by his paternal grandfather, Bo Yibo. He goes by Guagua, meaning "watermelon", initially a nickname given by his maternal grandfather, Gu Jingsheng.[6]
Bo's father, Bo Xilai, was a high-profile CCP official and Politburo member until his removal from office in 2012. Bo's mother, Gu Kailai, aka Horus L. Kai, was a lawyer who was convicted of homicide in 2012. Both of his parents hail from prominent political families that were persecuted during the Cultural Revolution. His paternal grandfather, Bo Yibo, was a revolutionary leader and one of the Eight Elders of the CCP. His paternal grandmother, Hu Ming, according to him, was "beaten to death" during the Cultural Revolution,[7] while the official history states that she committed suicide. His maternal grandfather, Gu Jingsheng, was a leader of the December 9th Movement and a PLA general. His maternal grandmother, Fan Chengxiu, was a descendant of the renowned Song dynasty prime minister and poet Fan Zhongyan.[8]
Bo has a half brother Brendan Li Wangzhi (李望知), born Bo Wangzhi (薄望知), from his father's first marriage to Li Danyu, an army surgeon and daughter of the Chinese politician Li Xuefeng. Brendan obtained his LLB degree from Peking University Law School and his master's degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.[9]
Education and career
editAs a child, Bo was raised by his maternal grandparents in Beijing. His mother, Gu Kailai, spent most of her time in Dalian, where his father, Bo Xilai, served as mayor, only returning to Beijing when Guagua was ill. He attended Beijing Jingshan School from elementary school through Grade 7, before withdrawing to prepare for studies in the UK. The decision to study abroad was partly inspired by his cousin, the daughter of Gu’s eldest sister, who was studying in the UK at the time, and, according to Bo Xilai, partly driven by Gu’s desire to retaliate for his extramarital affair by taking Guagua away.[10]
In early 1998, during Bo's winter break, Gu took him on a visit to the UK to explore the educational opportunities, along with Dalian businessman Xu Ming and Taiwanese American businessman Larry Cheng, at Xu's expenses. They toured Harrow School and Oxford University. In December 1999, Gu went to the UK again with Bo, settling in Bournemouth, where Bo attended Dorset International College, a now defunct language school recommended by his cousin, while Gu rented an apartment in Keystone House near the coast. They met through the language school a volunteer from the Royal British Legion, Fido Vivien-May, who introduced Bo to Harrow School, but Bo's first application was rejected.[10]
After completing a year at Papplewick School in 2000, Bo applied to Harrow School again and received a conditional offer, requiring him to pass the Common Entrance Examination with specific scores. Bo excelled, achieving six A’s and one B in Latin. It was widely reported Bo was the first Chinese citizen at Harrow,[11] but the claim was unverified.[10]
After six years at Harrow, Bo attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics.[11] He had an active social life and joined the Oxford University Conservative Association. In his second year he ran unsuccessfully for a prominent position in the Oxford Union, a debating society.[11] Bo struggled in his academic work and was "rusticated" (suspended) for one year. 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.[11][12][13] The request to reinstate Bo was denied and Bo's tutors declined to provide him with recommendations for his application to Harvard University, where he was nonetheless admitted to the Master’s program in Public Policy at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, graduating in May 2012, after which he never returned to China. From 2013 to 2016, he pursued a JD degree at Columbia Law School.[11]
After graduating from the law school, Bo has lived in Canada. From late 2016 to early 2021, he worked as a business analyst for the Power Corporation owned by the Desmarais family, who have maintained close ties to the Bo family.[14] He currently serves as an advisor to Power Sustainable Capital of Canada and a partner of Ginkgo Lake LLC, a Boston investment manager.[15]
Personal life
editAt Oxford, Bo dated Lale Can Gözübüyük, a Turkish student who now works in finance. They organized a ball featuring a performance by DJ Tim Westwood and a speech by Jackie Chan.[16]
From around 2010 to late 2011, Bo was in a relationship with Sabrina Chen Xiaodan, the granddaughter of Chen Yun. In 2011, over 400 photos of the couple, taken during their trip to Tibet in the summer of 2010, surfaced online. The photos showed them receiving VIP-level treatment, including police motorcades escorting them throughout Tibet. Sabrina broke up with Bo several months before his father, Bo Xilai, was arrested.[17]
In November 2024, Bo arrived in Taiwan on a British passport ahead of his planned marriage to the granddaughter of Hsu Wen-cheng, the Kuomintang politician and founder Luodong Bo-ai Hospital in Yilan County, Taiwan. The couple knew each other while studying in the United States.[18][19]
Controversies
editFunding
editThere had been much public speculation about how Bo 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.[20] 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.[21]
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."[21][23] He denied that he had ever driven a Ferrari.[24] 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.[25] 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.[26]
Public image
editBo first rose to public attention in May 2006 when Esquire China published a feature titled Bo Guagua: PPE and a London Accent, highlighting his British education since the age of 11, his skills in horseback riding, fencing, rugby, tango dancing, as well as his English book Uncommon Wealth, “an experimental work composed of English text, illustrations, poetry, and manifestos” published when he was 17. Since then, unlike most children of party leaders who maintain a low profile, Bo cultivated a highly public persona, often described as a "red aristocrat" or "playboy". His Westernized and privileged lifestyle stood in stark contrast to his father’s efforts to revive a "red culture" in Chongqing, which included promoting revolutionary songs and Maoist slogans.[27] When Bo Xilai was suspended from his party positions, party leaders cited the younger Bo’s behavior as one of the contributing factors. Bo’s playboy lifestyle, widely reported in the international press, has been a source of embarrassment for the Communist Party leadership in Beijing, who have indicated their desire for him to return to China to face prosecution for corruption.[4][5][28]
References
edit- ^ 薄瓜瓜 薄瓜瓜 (in Chinese). cctv.com. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 薄瓜瓜答问摘录 (in Chinese). Southern Weekend. 2 July 2009. Archived from the original on 26 April 2013.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "三聯生活周刊記錄:薄瓜瓜在英國 - 快訊-文匯網". news.wenweipo.com. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
- ^ "红色贵族薄瓜瓜北京大学做客记_新浪尚品_新浪网". style.sina.com.cn. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
- ^ "Wife of sacked Chongqing boss a woman of many talents" Archived 23 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine, Want China Times 19 March 2012.
- ^ 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
- ^ a b c "三聯生活周刊記錄:薄瓜瓜在英國 - 快訊-文匯網". news.wenweipo.com. Retrieved 15 November 2024.
- ^ a b c d e 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Montreal’s Power Corp. deepens ties with China’s prominent Bo family
- ^ "Kuangyi (Guagua) B." LinkedIn.
- ^ "三聯生活周刊記錄:薄瓜瓜在英國2 - 快訊-文匯網". news.wenweipo.com. Retrieved 17 November 2024.
- ^ 中央通訊社 (22 January 2018). "薄瓜瓜舊愛 中共紅三代陳曉丹南非完婚 | 兩岸". 中央社 CNA (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ 中央通訊社 (15 November 2024). "中國「紅三代」薄瓜瓜 父親薄熙來一度挑戰習近平 | 兩岸". 中央社 CNA (in Chinese). Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ "Son of imprisoned CCP leader Bo Xilai visits Taiwan for marriage". Taiwan News. 15 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
- ^ Shanghaiist (21 May 2012). "Washington Post peers into princelings educated abroad". Shanghaiist.com.
- ^ a b 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
- ^ "Bo's Son Ticketed in Porsche". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 23 July 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Page, Jeremy "Children of the Revolution" Archived 5 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, The Wall Street Journal. 26 November 2011.
- ^ 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.