Son of Bo Xilai denies wild parties and ferraris at university
The son of a disgraced Chinese leader Bo Xilai has broken his silence to deny reports that he drove a Ferrari and said his expensive overseas education was funded by scholarships and family “savings”.
7:20AM BST 25 Apr 2012
Bo Guagua, who is currently studying at Harvard in the United States, has come under intense scrutiny since his father Bo Xilai and mother Gu Kailai became implicated in the biggest political scandal to hit China in decades.
His partying and alleged extravagant lifestyle have triggered criticism in a country where the rich-poor divide is widening and anger over corruption and perceived impunity among leaders and their children is on the rise.
In a statement to The Harvard Crimson – Harvard’s university newspaper – the 24-year-old broke his weeks-long silence and attempted to address questions about how his parents managed to fund his prestigious education overseas.
“My tuition and living expenses at Harrow School, University of Oxford and Harvard University 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,” he wrote.
Gu is currently under investigation in China for the suspected murder of British national Neil Heywood, who reportedly facilitated Bo Guagua’s entry into Britain’s exclusive Harrow School.
hi