Bo Kuangyi | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
薄旷逸 | |||||||
Born | 17 December 1987 | ||||||
Nationality | Chinese | ||||||
Other names | Bo Jinggua (薄京瓜), [1] Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜) | ||||||
Education | Beijing Jingshan School Harrow School | ||||||
Alma mater | Balliol College, Oxford Harvard Kennedy School Columbia Law School | ||||||
Occupation | Businessman | ||||||
Parent(s) | Bo Xilai Gu Kailai | ||||||
Relatives | Li 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.
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
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]
The Princelings,also translated as the Party's Crown Princes,are the descendants of prominent and influential senior communist officials in the People's Republic of China. It is an informal,and often derogatory,categorization to signify those benefiting from nepotism and cronyism,by analogy with crown princes in hereditary monarchies. Many of its members hold high-level political and business positions in the upper echelons of power.
Bo Xilai is a Chinese former politician who was convicted on bribery and embezzlement charges. He came to prominence through his tenures as Mayor of Dalian and then the governor of Liaoning. From 2004 to November 2007,he served as Minister of Commerce. Between 2007 and 2012,he served as a member of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Communist Party Secretary of Chongqing,a major interior municipality. He was generally considered the main political rival of Xi Jinping before Xi was elected to be the Paramount Leader of China.
Bo Yibo (Chinese:薄一波;pinyin:BóYībō;Wade–Giles:Po2 I1-po1;17 February 1908 –15 January 2007) was a Chinese politician. He was one of the most senior political figures in China during the 1980s and 1990s.
Jiang Weiping is a veteran mainland Chinese journalist known internationally for his arrest by the Chinese Communist Party in 2001.
Zhang Dejiang is a Chinese retired politician. He served as the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress,roughly the equivalent of a speaker of parliament in other countries,between 2013 and 2018. He was also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP),deputy head of the National Security Commission and the top official responsible for Hong Kong and Macau affairs.
Wang Yang is a Chinese retired politician who served as the chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference from 2018 to 2023. Previously,Wang was one of the four vice premiers of China in premier Li Keqiang's Cabinet between 2013 and 2018. Until December 2012,he served as the Communist Party secretary of Guangdong,the province's top political office. He served as the Communist Party secretary of Chongqing,an interior municipality,from 2005 to 2007. Wang also held a seat on the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party from 2007 to 2022,and the Politburo Standing Committee from 2017 to 2022.
Wang Hongju is a retired Chinese politician. He was the mayor of Chongqing,one of four direct-controlled municipalities in China,from 2003 to 2009. He served under Bo Xilai,who headed the Communist Party organization of the city.
The 18th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held November 8-15,2012 at the Great Hall of the People. It was preceded by the 17th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party. Due to term limits and age restrictions,seven of the nine members of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee (PSC) retired during the Congress,including Hu Jintao,who was replaced by Xi Jinping as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. The Congress elected the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party,and saw the number of Politburo Standing Committee seats reduced from nine to seven. It was succeeded by the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.
Jiang Jiemin is a former Chinese oil executive and senior Communist Party and economic official. He was the general manager and then chairman of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC),before being appointed the director of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) in March 2013. He was also a member of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
Bo is a set of several Chinese family names,including 薄Bó,柏Bó/Bǎi,波Bō,伯Bó,etc. Among these names,柏is the 213th most common surname in China at present,shared by at least 430,000 Chinese citizens,although when used as a surname it is generally pronounced Bai. None of the other characters pronounced Bo are currently in the top 300 surnames in China,although surname 薄is the 271st surname in the Hundred Family Surnames and is quite well known due to it being the family name of high-profile politicians Bo Xilai and his father Bo Yibo.
Wang Lijun is a Chinese former police chief. He served as vice-mayor and police chief of the megacity of Chongqing. Wang is ethnically Mongol and was born in Arxan,Inner Mongolia. Prior to taking on positions in Chongqing,Wang served as vice-mayor and police chief of Jinzhou,Liaoning,and the police chief of Tieling,Liaoning.
The Wang Lijun incident was a major Chinese political scandal which began in February 2012 when Wang Lijun,vice-mayor of Chongqing,was abruptly demoted,after revealing to the United States consulate details of British businessman Neil Heywood's murder and subsequent cover-up. Amidst rumors of political infighting with Chongqing Communist Party secretary Bo Xilai,Wang arranged a meeting on 6 February at the US consulate in Chengdu,where he remained for over 30 hours. Observers speculated that Wang may have been attempting to defect or to seek refuge from Bo. He then left the consulate of his own volition and was taken to Beijing by agents and the vice minister Qiu Jin (邱进) of the Ministry of State Security. The Chongqing municipal government declared that Wang was receiving "vacation-style medical treatment".
Neil Heywood was an English businessman who worked in China. He was associated with Bo Xilai.
Gu Kailai is a Chinese former lawyer and businesswoman. She is the second wife of former Politburo member Bo Xilai,one of China's most influential politicians until he was stripped of his offices in 2012. In August 2012,Gu was convicted of murdering British businessman Neil Heywood and was given a suspended death sentence,later commuted to life imprisonment in December 2015.
Papplewick School is a non-selective independent day and boarding preparatory school for boys aged 6–13 in Ascot,England. It occupies a 15-acre semi-rural campus across from Ascot Racecourse.
The "Chongqing model" was a series of social and economic policies adopted in the Chinese megalopolis of Chongqing. It is most closely associated with Bo Xilai,who served as the city's Communist Party secretary from 2007 to 2012,though some policies were put in place by Bo's predecessors.
Singing revolutionary songs,Reading classic books,Telling stories and Spreading mottos or Singing,Reading,Telling and Spreading is a political movement launched by Bo Xilai in Chongqing,People's Republic of China. It is one of Bo's two main political movements,along with Chongqing gang trials. Started in 2008,the movement caused impact around China.
Xu Ming was a Chinese entrepreneur and billionaire. He was the founder of the conglomerate Dalian Shide Group,and the chairman of Dalian Shide F.C.,China's top football club in the 2000s. In 2005,Forbes ranked him the eighth-richest person in China,with an estimated net worth of US$1.05 billion,but his net worth declined to $690 million in 2011. The 2013 Hurun Report estimated his wealth to be around US$490 million,ranking 676th in China.
The Zhi Xian Party,also known as the Chinese Constitutionalist Party in English,is an unregistered political party in China. It was founded in 2013 by people who support the Chinese Communist Party's position as the country's ruling party,but who also seek a return to a Maoist model and an end to what they consider violations of the national constitution by the Communist Party. Bo Xilai was elected the party's "Chairman for Life",because the party considered the trial against him unjust. The party was banned in December 2013.