Bo Guagua

Bo was born in Beijing to a prominent political family as Kuangyi, a name bestowed by his paternal grandfather, Bo Yibo, meaning "a remarkable talent of many ages". Both sides of his family belonged to long-established political lineages originating from Shanxi that had become deeply embedded in Beijing's political circles. He goes by Guagua, meaning "watermelon", initially a nickname given by his maternal grandfather, Gu Jingsheng. Bo's father, Bo Xilai, was a high-profile Chinese Communist Party (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, 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 scholar-official, Fan Zhongyan. 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, master's degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs, and is now a businessman in China. == Biography ==

As 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. Graham denied that any Chinese diplomat had visited him; he admitted that they had visited Bo's tutors, but denied any pressure either. He currently serves as an advisor to Power Sustainable Capital of Canada and a partner of Ginkgo Lake LLC, a Boston investment manager. == Personal life ==

At 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. After 8 years of dating, Bo married Deffany Hsu Hui-yü, his schoolmate at Columbia University and the granddaughter of Hsu Wen-cheng, a Kuomintang politician and the founder Luodong Bo-ai Hospital in Yilan County, Taiwan. The couple held a wedding banquet in Hsinchu County, Taiwan in November 2024. At the wedding, he paid tribute to his parents for "making sacrifices for the people and the greater good" and "endur[ing] fabricated crimes with grace." == Controversies ==

Public image Bo 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. 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. Funding There 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. Bo's three-year course at Columbia charges tuition and other fees of more than $60,000 a year, on top of which living expenses have to be factored in. 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." 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. 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. Red Ferrari In November 2011, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bo had once worn a tuxedo and driven a red Ferrari to pick up one of Jon Huntsman Jr.'s daughters at the U.S. ambassador's residence in Beijing. The newspaper later issued a correction, clarifying that the two had driven together from a group dinner to a bar, rather than Bo picking her up at her home. Despite the correction, the original account—particularly the detail of the red Ferrari—gained widespread circulation in China. Bo and his father, Bo Xilai, along with a subsequent investigation by The New York Times, refuted several aspects of the report, including the claim that Bo had ever driven a Ferrari. ==References==