New Bo Guagua photo sparks debate over fate of princeling's son

China’s online community seems even more divided over the fate of Bo Guagua after the son of the disgraced former Politburo member Bo Xilai was pictured partying with friends in a New York cafe with a smile on his face - days after his father’s dramatic trial ended in Shandong.

In a photo that surfaced first on Twitter and was later re-posted on Weibo, Bo Guagua, 25, was seen sipping a drink while chatting with friends. The photo was taken at Boat Basin Cafe on 79th street in New York City where Bo’s attending graduate school at Columbia University, according to reports.

The son’s cheerful manner annoyed some of China’s online users. Many had recently watched the dramatic trial of Bo Xilai, who had allegedly told the court he missed both his sons a great deal.    

“Will they ever go after all the bribe money he spent?” wrote one microblogger, “And how could he possibly be so happy after what happened to his family?”

Bo Guagua’s mother, Gu Kailai, is serving a suspended death sentence for murder and his father is waiting for what will almost certainly be a guilty verdict.