April 25, Bo Guagua, son of the disgraced Chinese political leader Bo Xilai, on Tuesday published an article in the newspaper of Harvard University, which he currently attends, claiming his overseas studies were only sponsored by scholarships and his mother’s own savings.

Unsubstantiated rumors have been circulating that his lifestyle was funded by the illicit gains obtained by his parents through their political connections.

In the statement, the 24-year-old Bo, showed “deep concerns” about the domestic calamity in which his parents find themselves.

His father, former party chief of Chongqing, was sacked for “serious discipline violation”, and his mother, Gu Kailai, is being probed in the murder of a British businessman Neil Heywood. Bo declined to comment on the ongoing investigation of his parents in the statement.

“Recently, there has been increasing attention from the press in my private life,” Bo said in the Harvard Crimson. “It is impossible to address all of the rumors and allegations about myself, but I will state the facts regarding some of the most pertinent claims.”

In the statement, Bo claimed his tuition and living costs at Harrow School, Oxford and Harvard were all covered by scholarships and his mother’s "generosity", and denied rumors of his supposed luxury life in which he drove a Ferrari sports car.

He also said he has made “solid” examination records, and meanwhile, had participated in meaningful extra-curricular activities, from debating in the Oxford Union to developing a non-profit website in China.

The statement was soon available on Chinese social websites and sparked online debate, though the Chinese characters for the contributor’s name “Guagua” are blocked from search.

QueenS-Yu, a Sina Weibo user from Shanghai, showed sympathy for young Bo and urged the press to stop hurting Guagua any more. “Everyone shall feel so shocked when his family undergoes such a misfortune. Why don’t the media make his [life] easier?”

But unsurprisingly in a society deeply sceptical about the claims of political figures and their families, many others doubted the statement’s honesty.

Hugang Xiaosheng, the verified microblog of George Chen, an editor at the South China Morning Post, said the letter was well organized and carefully planned. “He must have accepted advice from lawyers or a PR person.”