( CNN ) -- With a father who is a toppled Communist leader and a mother accused of murder , the son , Bo Guagua , is now under scrutiny over reports of a lavish student lifestyle that have raised questions about where China 's top cadres find their money . Photographs of him bare-chested with his arms around female students at an Oxford college party and urinating against a college fence have gone down badly in China , where his father , Bo Xilai , has been accused of corruption and stripped of his political post . Bo Xilai reacted furiously to questions about his 24-year-old son 's lifestyle last month . `` A few people have been pouring filth on Chongqing and me and my family , '' Bo said at the time . `` They even say that my son studies abroad and drives a red Ferrari . Sheer rubbish ! I feel really furious . Sheer rubbish ! '' Despite the denials , rumors over his son 's allegedly flamboyant college lifestyle have added to the woes of the former Chongqing kingpin who promoted a revival of 'red culture ' and pushed efforts to bring back Maoist slogans . While Bo family friends have defended Guagua 's college record and behavior , one family associate told CNN there was little sympathy in China for what many regard as the typically spoilt offspring of the Communist Party elite . `` He ( Bo Guagua ) had tried to explain himself , saying the pictures showed him attending school parties which encouraged students to socialize and let their hair down , '' the source said . `` One picture showed him with an unbuttoned shirt and his arms around foreign students . He said it was quite normal there , but no one in China would buy that . Here 90 % of people do not get the cultural differences . '' The source added that the images had not played well in China , where Guagua 's antics have been grist for the country 's gossip-hungry microblogs . `` Many Chinese admire and support Bo Xilai , but few like Bo Guagua , '' the source said . What does Bo scandal mean for China ? A fellow student at the Harvard Kennedy School -- where the cost for the average international student the school puts at $ 71,000 a year -- told CNN that Bo skirted attendance requirements at the college , making his first appearance at one seminar class on its final day when he was scheduled to make a presentation . `` Let me tell you how we 've been going about this all year , '' the seminar 's instructor said to Bo , explaining the class 's protocols since he had not attended previous classes , the student recounted . `` He more than anyone else that I know really pushed it to the boundaries , '' the student said . `` Not attending seminars , not getting any feedback . '' The student described Bo 's presentation as `` slapdash and put together at the last moment . '' The seminar 's instructor declined to comment , citing student privacy policies . Bo was one of 21 students awarded a research grant from the school 's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation for the current academic year . A school spokesman declined to say how many students competed for the grant which is awarded on `` the quality of the proposal , the research focus , and travel requirements . '' Harvard Kennedy School spokesman Doug Gavel said he could not comment on specific students , citing privacy concerns . The family friend told CNN that reports about Bo 's lackluster university record and rich-kid lifestyle were `` one-sided and a bit unfair '' . `` He may have committed indiscretions in public , but he is not the spoiled brat who thinks of nothing but a good time , '' the source said . `` Let 's remember that he had done some fund-raising for the victims of the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 . The same year , he promoted the Beijing Olympics in his school . '' Pei : The paranoid style in Chinese politics . The family friend said Bo Guagua had been a smart and thoughtful child . `` He learned calligraphy at a very young age and was a good writer in Chinese and English , '' the source said . `` He published his writings in a paperback in 2005 when he was still in his late teens . '' The family friend told CNN that far from receiving miserable grades , Bo Guagua 's performance at Oxford had been creditable , receiving a 2:1 grade . `` It 's probably equivalent to an A minus which by Oxford standards is pretty good ; and to the think he was handicapped by the problems of adjusting to a very different place and culture . He was in his early teens when he moved overseas to study , '' the source said . While there has been speculation that Bo Guagua may seek asylum in the U.S. in the light of his parents ' problems , the US agency that oversees asylum requests , the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services , `` can neither confirm nor deny that someone has filed a request , '' according to spokesman Chris Bentley . `` As far as we know , there 's nothing to those reports ; he remains at school at Harvard , '' Mark Toner , a State Department spokesman , told a press conference in Washington last week . Bo Guagua did not respond to emailed requests for comment .
Bo Xilai 's son Bo Guagua in the spotlight over lavish student lifestyle . Questions have been raised over where China 's top cadres find their money . Bo Xilai once championed revival of 'red culture ' and pushed efforts to bring back Maoist slogans . Sources say images of Bo Guagua partying have not played well in China .