Mr. Bo Xilai in court on August 22.
Like father Like son.
Bo Xilai may soon begin his new life in Qincheng prison, just as his father, veteran Bo Yibo, had to live here during the Cultural Revolution.
Qincheng Prison was built on a hill north of Beijing in 1958, initially to detain opponents of the new China.
Today, Qincheng is considered the most `luxurious` prison in China, a place to detain political prisoners, former high-ranking officials and has some privileges over ordinary prisoners.
Inmates of this luxury prison can watch TV from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day and can walk around the prison grounds alone, 6 times a week.
Prisoners at Bo Xilai’s level also get better meals, the newspaper added.
Information about Tan Thanh prison is often word of mouth.
It is unclear whether Bo Xilai will be detained in Qincheng or not.
However, most people interviewed by the BBC believe Mr Bo will follow in the footsteps of other senior officials and be detained in Qincheng.
`The possibility of Bo Xilai being sent somewhere other than Qincheng seems to be zero,` predicted Mo Shaoping, a famous lawyer in Beijing.
The long list of famous prisoners includes Jiang Qing, wife of Chairman Mao Zedong.
`Conditions here are much better than normal prisons,` lawyer Mo added, explaining that prisoners have access to bathrooms and bathtubs, a library and a TV.
Experts have reason to predict Bo Xilai will be detained in this luxury prison.
`Former high-ranking party officials are often treated better than ordinary prisoners, especially in terms of health care, family visits, and exemption from certain prison requirements.
`Considering all other aspects of Bo’s case, it can be expected that the usual rules and regulations will not apply. Despite his disgrace, Bo Xilai remains ‘part of the party’
Bo Xilai is not expected to be held in regular prisons.
The prisoners in Qincheng were actually uncomfortable.
`The food was terrible. Three times a day, we were given tortillas with cucumbers, potatoes and eggplants. No meat, no oil, dumplings with no or very little filling. I had to beg.
And although security agents tried to prevent Wang from contacting other student leaders during the Tiananmen incident, he was still able to connect with them.
Mr. Bo seems to face more enemies than friends in prison.
Wang is considered the key to Bo Xilai’s downfall because his visit to the US consulate in Chengdu revealed that Bo and his wife, Gu Kailai, were involved in the death of British businessman Neil Heywood.
However, Mr. Bo certainly will not have to face the awkward situation when he encounters his wife in Tan Thanh.
Ms. Coc is said to be being held at Yen Thanh prison in Hebei province.
No matter how much `luxury prison` Tan Thanh is, Mr. Bo seems to have to face difficult years ahead.
Liu Zhijun, former Minister of Railways, will also have to stay here for at least a decade for accepting a bribe of 9.4 million USD.
Even the chief architect of this prison has a lesson for himself.
`If I knew I would have to stay here, I would have tried to build a more beautiful prison,` Feng once said.
