According to the Global Times, Mao Xinyu has not been promoted to military general, as was reported in a number of other newspapers. (H/T Shanghaiist)
Reports that Chairman Mao’s only grandson was promoted to the rank of major general was dismissed as false, the Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po said on Thursday.
Some media reports, both in China and abroad, said that Mao Xinyu, 39, was promoted from senior colonel to major general, thus possibly becoming the youngest to hold that rank in the People’s Liberation Army.
Mao’s secretary, Guo Jingliang, confirmed on Thursday that despite being introduced last year as the deputy director at a department on war theory and strategic research of the Academy of Military Sciences, Mao still holds the rank of senior colonel.
Guo said Mao has corrected journalists who addressed him as a major general during interviews.
“I hope the focus would be on Mao’s remarkable academic achievements instead of the speculation and hype about promotions,”he said.
Additionally, Global Times translates an interview of Mao Xinyu from Southern People Weekly magazine:
Mao: I’m often recognized by people. My parents educated me that I shouldn’t be afraid of being recognized, nor of walking to the people and standing among them. Chairman Mao enjoyed a high prestige among the people, and they have strong affection for his descendents. If someone recognizes us and wants to take a picture with us, we will always satisfy their requirements.
At the age of 26, I, together with my mother, was once invited to Huining, Gansu Province, to participate in the commemorative activity to mark the 60th anniversary of the completion of the Long March of the Red Army. Some local people even held up portraits of Chairman Mao to welcome us. People across the county arrived and surrounded the hotel we lived in.
My mother said we couldn’t disappoint them, and we must go out. Three cars were than arranged – the first one was to clear the way, I stood on the second, the third followed. However, we could hardly move, since the road was blocked by numerous people. I kept shaking hands with people.
In the afternoon, there was a memorial, and I was asked to give a speech. The audience lost control just as I cried out “Long Live the Great Workers’ and Farmers’ Red Army! Long Live the Long March! Long Live Chairman Mao!” People started to rush to the stage, and more than 10 policemen tried to maintain order, hands linked to form a chain around us. They were knocked down, and five or six more policemen convoyed us into a jeep. We stayed there for three hours until the evening came and the crowd drifted away. It was chaotic, but both my mother and I were moved to tears.
