Desmond Shum, author of Red Roulette, published a long article in September 2026, publicly detailing for the first time his interactions, reading groups, and the last meeting with Ling Gu before the accident, while analyzing the impact of the car crash on Chinese politics and Xi Jinping's consolidation of power.
In the early morning of March 18, 2012, Ling Gu, the only son of Ling Jihua, died in a Ferrari crash near the Baofusi Bridge on Beijing's North Fourth Ring Road. Two young women in the car were severely injured, triggering high-level political maneuvering and intensive news censorship.
On March 15, 2012, Bo Xilai was dismissed from his post as secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the CCP, and three days later Ling Gu died in a car accident in Beijing. These two incidents became critical turning points in the restructuring of the top leadership power structure of the Chinese Communist Party on the eve of the 18th National Congress.