l****z
发帖数: 29846 | 1 Boston-Area Traffic Stops Surface as Chinese 'Princeling' Seeks to Play Down
Lifestyle
By JENNIFER LEVITZ and STEVE EDER
BOSTON—In an effort to dispel reports that he led a luxurious lifestyle, Bo
Guagua, the Chinese "princeling" at Harvard and son of a deposed Communist
leader, this week denied he ever drove a Ferrari. But Mr. Bo has racked up
three traffic citations in Massachusetts—and according to a person familiar
with the matter, he was driving a black Porsche.
Mr. Bo is the son of Bo Xilai, the ousted party chief of Chongqing, China,
and his wife Gu Kailai, who is under suspicion in China for the murder of a
British businessman.
The Chinese authorities haven't cited any allegations against the younger Mr
. Bo, but in announcing actions against his parents, they said that he and
his mother had a close relationship with the late British businessman, Neil
Heywood, which later soured because of a business dispute. Mr. Bo, 24, is a
postgraduate student at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government.
Disputing a notion common in China that he lives a lavish lifestyle, Mr. Bo
wrote to the Harvard Crimson on Tuesday saying he wished to address "rumors
and allegations about myself." Among other things, "I have never driven a
Ferrari," he wrote. The Wall Street Journal reported in November, based on
people familiar with the episode, that Mr. Bo, the grandson of an
illustrious Communist leader of the Mao era, arrived at the U.S. ambassador'
s residence in Beijing in a red Ferrari last year to pick up the daughter of
the then-ambassador.
Bo Guagua attended schools in Britain. Above, he won an award at a U.K. Ten
Outstanding Chinese Young Persons event in London in 2009.
Mr. Bo's whereabouts is unknown, but he has lived until recently at an
upscale apartment building in Cambridge, Mass., with a full-time concierge
and sun deck. Apartments like his typically rent for about $2,950 a month,
according to rental websites. Mr. Bo appeared to have left his apartment
nearly two weeks ago escorted by private security personnel, according to a
person familiar with the matter.
Massachusetts Department of Transportation records show Mr. Bo was stopped
by police for allegedly running stop signs in December 2010 and May 2011,
one of them at 2:20 a.m., and for speeding in February 2011. The license
plate of the car, which the Journal learned from someone familiar with the
matter, showed it was a black 2011 Porsche Panamera registered to someone at
his address. Cars similar to that cost $80,000 or more new, according to
Edmunds.com.
The license plate on the car is registered to James Jun Cui, according to
state records. A person with that name has an address in New York City. A
man who answered a cellphone linked with Mr. Cui on Thursday evening was
asked about his relationship with Bo Guagua. He replied, "I'm traveling, now
is not a good time," and hung up.
Writing to the Crimson, Mr. Bo said that his education—which besides
Harvard has included Oxford University and the British private school Harrow
—had been 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 didn't say who provided the
scholarships or who paid the fees for Papplewick, another British private
school he attended before Harrow.
In the statement, Mr. Bo portrayed himself as a typical university student,
who has participated in extracurricular clubs and social activities. He
wrote that he had not "lent my name to nor participated in any for-profit
business or venture, in China or abroad."
The Obama administration could face a political issue when the visa allowing
the younger Mr. Bo to remain in the U.S. as a student runs out. It isn't
known when the visa expires.
State Department officials in recent days have declined to discuss the
younger Mr. Bo's future status at Harvard or specify what kind of visa he
holds. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Monday described Bo
Guagua as a "student in good standing at Harvard…You can draw your own
conclusions from that."
—James Oberman, Jeremy Page, Jay Solomon and Devlin Barrett contributed to
this article. |
|
