Son of jailed ex-CCP official Bo Xilai visits Taiwan; rumored to marry Taiwanese

Taipei, Nov. 15 (CNA) Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) confirmed Friday that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), one of the sons of former prominent Chinese Communist Party (CCP) figure Bo Xilai (薄熙來), came to Taiwan.

Bo Guagua obtained permission to travel to Taiwan after his application to visit as a Chinese national was approved, the MAC said in a statement, after local media reported earlier in the day that he arrived in Taiwan on Wednesday to marry a Taiwanese woman.

The MAC -- Taiwan's top government agency handling cross-strait affairs -- said the government is closely monitoring the situation given Bo Guagua's unique background, while urging people to respect his privacy and his wish to keep a low profile.

Bo Guagua was reportedly visiting the parents of his fiancée, who is from a well-known family in Yilan County, during his trip to Taiwan.

He is to marry the granddaughter of the founder of Lotung Poh-Ai Hospital in Yilan, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported.

The hospital, however, said it was unaware of the situation.

Bo Xilai was the CCP chief of Chongqing in south-western China and a member of the powerful politburo before he was engulfed in the Wang Lijun (王立軍) incident.

Wang was vice mayor of Chongqing who sought asylum in the U.S. consulate in the city of Chengdu. He claimed to have information about the involvement of Bo Xilai's wife in the murder of a British businessman.

In September 2012, Bo Xilai was removed from all party and public positions. He was tried and found guilty of corruption and abuse of power a year later, for which he received a life sentence.

At the time, Bo Guagua was studying abroad and avoided the legal troubles his parents faced in China.