Li Wangzhi, the eldest son of ousted Politburo member Bo Xilai, rejected suggestions he used his father’s position for personal gain and said the downfall of a man he hasn’t seen in five years had destroyed his life.
Li, 34, said in a telephone interview yesterday that the last time he saw his father was at the funeral of his grandfather, Bo Yibo, in early 2007, and he hasn’t had any contact with him since. The former Citigroup Inc. (C) banker, who later went into private equity, said he was in China and not under detention.
前中央政治局委員薄熙來(專題)的長子李望知抱怨稱自己的生活被一個五年未謀面的人的倒臺摧毀了。他撇清自己沒有以父親的權位為自己謀利。
34歲的李望知在昨日接受電話採訪時稱，自己與父親薄熙來(專題)上一次見面是在5年前，即2007年薄一波的葬禮上，且在此之後就沒再聯繫過。李望知曾在花旗銀行任職，後轉為私人股本投資。他指出，自己在中國，自由並未受限制。
Li’s comments seek to dispel speculation he profited from the position of his father, who was suspended earlier this month from the ruling Politburo. The ouster of Bo and the arrest of his wife on suspicion of murder have heightened scrutiny of the family’s business interests and sparked China’s deepest political crisis since the 1989 Tiananmen uprising.
「This incident has destroyed my life,」 said Li, who also goes by the name Brendan Li. 「I have no way to control how others think, but I have no desire to bask in his glow,」 he said, referring to his father.
李望知的評論意在消除公眾輿論關於他通過父親的權勢獲利的推斷。薄熙來(專題)的下臺與其妻谷開來面臨的殺人指控提高了外界對薄家商業利益的關注度，並引發了中國至1989年天安門事件以來最嚴重的政治危機。
「這件事毀了我的生活，」李望知說，他還有個英文名字叫布倫丹·李。 「我也沒有辦法控制別人怎麼想，但我無意沉浸在他（薄熙來）的蔭庇中。」
Bo Xilai’s wife, Gu Kailai, was taken into custody for involvement in the murder of British businessman Neil Heywood, Xinhua News Agency reported April 10. The state-run agency said Gu and Heywood had 「a conflict over economic interests.」 Bo, 62, who was suspended as Communist Party chief of the municipality of Chongqing last month, has been accused of 「serious violations of discipline,」 the agency said.
根據新華社4月10日發布的新聞，薄熙來的妻子，谷開來已被羈押。她被控捲入對英商海伍德的謀殺。
No Contact
Li said he didn’t know Heywood or the relationship between Heywood and the Bo family, and said his mother, Li Danyu, has not had any contact with her ex-husband in three decades. Li Danyu and Bo divorced when Li Wangzhi was a child. Li said he left the Bo family 「a long time ago.」
Since Bo’s ouster from his posts, details of his extended family’s wealth and business dealings have emerged that show businesses from China to the Caribbean, the U.S. and U.K.
李望知說，他並不知道海伍德與薄家之間的關係。他的母親李丹宇也說，她已有30年沒有與前夫薄熙來聯繫了。她和薄熙來離婚時，李望知還只是個孩子。「他（李望知）已離開薄家很久了。」
自從薄熙來從高位落馬以來，其背後大家庭的財富和生意往來的細節被揭露出來，從中國到加勒比海地區，以及英美。
「The spouses and children of some cadres have taken advantage of their power to seek personal gains, disregarding the law, thus stirring public outcry,」 state-run Xinhua News Agency said in an April 14 commentary, four days after reporting that Bo had been suspended from the Politburo.
「It’s an obvious fact that my family name isn’t Bo,」 Li said when contacted on his mobile phone number.
在報導薄熙來倒臺的消息四天後，新華社曾批評「一些幹部的配偶與孩子利用權力為自己謀利，罔顧法律，使輿論嘩然」。
「我並不姓薄，這是一個顯然的事實。」李望知說。
Guagua, Xiyong
Bo Xilai’s removal has altered the lives of his extended family, including that of Li’s half-brother and Harvard University student Bo Guagua, 24, and their uncle Bo Xiyong. The uncle on April 25 resigned from Hong Kong-listed alternative energy company China Everbright International Ltd. (257), where he served as vice chairman. Li said he hasn’t had any contact with other Bo family members since the funeral.
Bo Guagua denied reports in newspapers including the Wall Street Journal and Daily Telegraph that he led a lavish lifestyle, which included driving a red Ferrari and expensive schooling beyond the means of his father’s salary as a party official. He made the comments in a statement published April 24 in the Harvard Crimson, the student newspaper.
薄熙來的變化已經影響到這個大家庭的生活，包括李望知在哈佛念博士的同父異母兄弟薄瓜瓜和他們的叔叔薄熙永。薄熙永在4月25日辭去了在香港上市的中國光大國際有限公司副主席一職。李望知說，自薄一波的葬禮後，他與薄家人並無任何聯繫。
薄瓜瓜則在哈佛學報上發表了聲明，反駁關於他開紅色法拉利的奢侈生活超出其父工資水平的新聞報導。
The grandfather of Bo Guagua and Li Wangzhi is a former vice premier of China who died in 2007. The family patriarch was one of the so-called eight immortals who helped steer China after the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution.
After graduating from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs in New York in 2003 with a master’s degree, Li worked for Citigroup. He wouldn’t comment about his time at the New York-based bank, saying he had signed a confidentiality agreement.
薄瓜瓜與李望知在2007年去世的爺爺薄一波曾任中國副總理，作為家族的元老，他也是帶領文革後的中國「過海」的「八仙」之一。
2003年從哥倫比亞大學國際和公共事務學院畢業後，李望知進入花旗集團工作。他拒絕評論在那裡工作的日子，稱自己已簽署了保密協議。
After leaving Citigroup he began a career in private equity. He said investments he made in Dalian, where his father was mayor for much of the 1990s, were not very successful.
離開花旗之後，李望知開始了私人股本投資。他說，在他父親擔任大連市長的90年代，他在大連的投資並不成功。
Li, who said he hasn’t worked since February, is linked to Chong’er Investment & Consultancy Co. by office and e-mail addresses. Chong’er was a Chinese prince in the seventh century B.C. who fled his home in the ancient state of Jin, modern-day Shanxi province and the ancestral home of the Bo, Li and Gu families, because his father made his half-brother the crown prince. Chong’er eventually fought back and took the crown.
自稱二月起就沒有工作的李望知，與「重耳」投資顧問公司有關聯。重耳是公元前7世紀薄、李、谷的故鄉的一位王子。他因同父異母的兄弟而出逃流亡，並最終奪回了王位。
Referring to Bo Xilai, he said: 「I also want to know if he’s safe.
「I look forward to seeing a fair conclusion to this case,」 Li said. 「My country’s government will make the correct judgment.」
談到薄熙來時，李望知說，我也想知道他現在是否安好。
「我期待著看到這個案子的公正結論」，李望知說，「我國政府將作出正確的判斷。」
