Deng Zhuodi (邓卓棣), the American-born grandson of the late Chinese Communist leader Deng Xiaoping, remained under the radar in Chinese media until May 2013, when he was made the deputy chief of Pingguo County in Baise City in Guangxi (广西百色市平果县). Recently, Baise’s local newspaper reported that Deng took up the post of Party secretary of a lower-level township, Xin’an, which is administrated by Pingguo. The media then reported that he shared his experiences as the top Communist official in the village. Most major official media in China carried the story.
29-year-old Deng Zhuodi is the only son of Deng Xiaoping’s youngest son Deng Zhifang (邓质方). He was born in the United States, received his law degree from Duke University in 2008, and worked as a lawyer in New York. In May last year, the media revealed that he had taken the position of the deputy chief of Pingguo County in Guangxi. Since then, the media has only reported on the few public appearances he has made. It is believed that Deng’s assignment as a local official is part of the Communist regime’s plan to groom the successors to the current leadership.
Many of the descendants of the first generation Communist revolutionists are now assuming positions in the Party, government, and military. For example, Mao Xinyu (毛新宇), the grandson of Mao Zedong, is now a major-general in the PLA Academy of Military Sciences; Zhu Heping (朱和平), the grandson of Zhu De, the founder of the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party, is an air major-general. Ye Zhonghao (叶仲豪) the great-grandson of Ye Jianying, one of the ten founding Marshals of China in 1949, is the Party secretary of the Communist Youth League in Yunfu City in Guangdong (广东省云浮市). It’s an unwritten rule that these "Red Descendants" will start their careers at the level of a deputy county chief, then, after a few promotions, rise to a minister or governor level post, and finally be selected as a member of the top leadership.
Source: Radio France International, June 25, 2014
http://www.chinese.rfi.fr/node/150187