The only grandson of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong (毛澤東) has been promoted to the rank of major general in the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), state media confirmed yesterday.
Reports have been circulating for months that military historian Mao Xinyu ( 毛新宇 ) had gained the rank, but officials had refused to confirm them, apparently to avoid suspicion of favoritism.
As reported last September, Mao, then 39, had become the youngest officer to reach major general rank in the army that was cofounded by his grandfather in 1927.
PHOTO: AFP
The newspaper Global Times, published by the Chinese Communist Party flagship People’s Daily, quoted Bao Guojun (包國俊), a spokesman for the Academy of Military Sciences where Mao works, as confirming the promotion.
“This is a natural elevation. Mao’s many achievements earned him the right to be promoted,” Bao said.
The report did not say exactly when the promotion took place.
The academy’s phone number is not listed in keeping with the deep secrecy surrounding the PLA, and requests for comment from the Defense Ministry were not immediately returned.
The Global Times report followed the appearance on the Internet of photos showing Mao wearing a major general’s single star on his shoulder boards during a visit last week to Sichuan Province.
Mao Xinyu is the son of Mao’s second son Mao Anqing (毛岸青), who died in 2007 at the age of 84. The younger Mao is a member of the main advisory body to the National People’s Congress and a fierce defender of his grandfather’s legacy.
Mao Zedong had a notoriously chaotic personal life, marrying four times and siring nine children, including a daughter by his last wife, Jiang Qing (江青). His second wife, Mao Xinyu’s grandmother, was executed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in 1930.
While Mao Zedong remains venerated in China, his offspring have played little role in affairs of state. First son Mao Anying (毛岸英) was killed in action during the Korean War and Mao Anqing is believed to have suffered from mental illness for most of his adult life.
In recent years, Mao Xinyu has become best known for his considerable girth and striking resemblance to his famously pudgy grandfather.
Son Mao Dongdong (毛東東), Mao Zedong’s only great-grandson, was born on the 110th anniversary of Mao Zedong’s birthday in 2003.
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