The new pudgy Maj. Gen. Mao
He enjoys generous helpings of red braised pork, collects Chinese fans and keeps an unapologetically patriotic blog. Now Mao Xinyu, the 39-year-old grandson and only surviving male heir of Mao, appears to have become the youngest major general in the People’s Liberation Army, according to the state media.
Although his elevation has not been officially announced by the military and some Web sites have dismissed it as a rumor, the news was reported Thursday by the Changjiang Daily, a state-run newspaper, and has been among the top news items on Chinese Web portals as the nation prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the revolution that brought Mao and the Communists to power.
A historian trained at the Central Party School and a steadfast guardian of Mao’s political thought, the younger Mao is one of the Great Helmsman’s four grandchildren. Although the official media afford him considerable respect, he is the object of some derision among other Chinese, who lampoon what they call his mediocre performance as a student, his unkempt ways and his prodigious girth; in recent years, his weight has exceeded 220 pounds.
Reaction to the news, posted anonymously on Chinese Web sites, was rife with sarcasm. “An excellent role model of our army, an unparalleled military leader and theorist of very high quality,” one comment read.
Many took note that General Mao has a son and a daughter in a society where most families today have only one child, a result of population control policies put in place after his grandfather’s death.
China’s ruling party, unlike the one in neighboring North Korea, disavows hereditary rule. Even so, General Mao has had a low profile compared with that of other descendants of some major Communist Party leaders. He is not viewed as a “princeling,” an appellation given those who have mined family connections for lucrative business opportunities or, in a few cases, political power.
Chinese analysts at one time speculated that General Mao might harbor ambitions of becoming a big-city mayor. But he seems to have settled for what has turned out to be a rewarding career in the military. He has also had some success writing books and articles on his grandfather.
He is not one to dwell on the repercussions of Mao’s missteps, including the tens of millions who starved as a result of his failed policies, or the brutality of the Cultural Revolution, which destroyed so many lives.
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The writer does a nice subtle put down in the last quoted paragraph. It is also an important one, that highlights the denial that remains in the Chicom culture. It can be said of Maj. Gen. Mao that rank has its privileges and privilege has its rank.
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