Deng Rong () is a Chinese politician and the third daughter of

paramount leader Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important Supreme leader, political figure in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberatio ...

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

. She has been accused of playing a key role in the cover-up of the 1966 killing of Bian Zhongyun by

Red Guards The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a ...

(Deng was a prominent student leader of the Red Guards at the time).

Early life

Deng is the youngest child of

and his third wife,

Zhuo Lin Zhuo Lin (April 6, 1916 – July 29, 2009) was the third and last wife of Deng Xiaoping, former Paramount leader of China. Biography Born Pu Qiongying () in Xuanwei, Yunnan province, she was the daughter of an industrialist who manufactured Yu ...

. She has two older sisters, Deng Lin and

Deng Nan Deng Nan (; born October 1945 in Guang'an, Sichuan) is a Chinese politician and physicist. Early life Deng was born the second daughter of Deng Xiaoping with his third wife Zhuo Lin. Deng studied physics at Peking University Peking Unive ...

, as well as two older brothers,

Deng Pufang Deng Pufang () (born 16 April 1944) is a Chinese politician, who is the eldest son of former Chinese paramount leader Deng Xiaoping.Pearson, Veronica. Royal College of Psychiatrists. 995(1995). RCPsych Publications. . p. 88 He is mostly known fo ...

and Deng Zhifang. Within the family, she was known as Mao Mao. Deng stated in an interview in 2004 that her father never spoke of official business at home and that her siblings and herself had no idea what Deng Xiaoping did at work, even though several guards stood sentry in their courtyard home. During one of the most severe flooding incidents in

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

in August 1975,

Li Xiannian Li Xiannian (; 23 June 1909 – 21 June 1992) was a Chinese Chinese Communist Party, Communist military and political leader, president of China from 1983 to 1988 under paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and then chairman of the Chinese People's Politi ...

called Deng Xiaoping to inform him that several dams had burst. Deng Rong answered the phone and refused to allow Li to speak with her father. In the first call, she said that Deng Xiaoping was sleeping; on the second call, she hung up. The paramount leader was allegedly playing

Mahjong Mahjong (English pronunciation: ; also transliterated as mah jongg, mah-jongg, and mahjongg) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is played ...

at the time. This was one of the reasons Deng Xiaoping was criticized for delaying rescue operations.

Killing of Bian Zhongyun

While enrolled at the Girls' Middle School in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

during the early stages of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, Deng was a prominent student leader of the

. The Middle School teacher Bian Zhongyun was beaten to death by Red Guards in the summer of 1966, making her an early victim of the Cultural Revolution. Shortly after the killing, Deng Rong tried to pressure a hospital into carrying out an

autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

and producing a death certificate stating that Bian died from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. The hospital finally issued a certificate that listed the death cause as "Unknown". The books Deng later wrote make no mention of the killing of Bian or her own role in it.

Career

When the People's Republic of China and United States established diplomatic relations in 1979, Deng was sent by her father to the Chinese Embassy in the US. She worked there for two years. From 1984 to 1990, Deng held the official position of Deputy Director of the Policy Research Office of the General Office of the

National People's Congress The National People's Congress (NPC) is the highest organ of state power of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The NPC is the only branch of government in China, and per the principle of unified power, all state organs from the Sta ...

. She also served as Deng Xiaoping's confidential secretary from early 1989. Since 1990, she has served as the vice president of the China Association for International Friendly Contact. In 1992, Deng accompanied her father on his southern tour. Among Deng Xiaoping's family members on the tour, Deng Rong was the most visibly prominent.

Writing

Deng published books titled ''Deng Xiaoping: My Father'' () (1993) and ''Deng Xiaoping and the Cultural Revolution'' (2000). A once-planned third volume about her father has not been published as of at least 2024. Deng has also given interviews revealing details of her father's personal life and personality. Deng has sued a publisher in

Liaoning ) , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = Clockwise: Mukden Palace in Shenyang, Xinghai Square in Dalian, Dalian coast, Yalu River at Dandong , image_map = Liaoning in China (+all claims hatched).svg , ...

over the alleged unauthorized publishing of her biographies.

Awards

Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

(

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, 2005) *

Order of Friendship The Order of Friendship (, ') is a state decoration of the Russian Federation established by Boris Yeltsin by presidential decree 442 of 2 March 1994 to reward Russian and foreign nationals whose work, deeds and efforts have been aimed at ...

(

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, 1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deng, Rong Writers from Chongqing 1950 births Living people Family of Deng Xiaoping People's Republic of China politicians from Chongqing Chinese Communist Party politicians from Chongqing 20th-century Chinese women politicians Chinese biographers 20th-century Chinese writers 20th-century Chinese businesswomen 20th-century Chinese businesspeople 21st-century Chinese businesswomen 21st-century Chinese businesspeople 21st-century Chinese women politicians 21st-century Chinese politicians Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Chinese expatriates in the United States Children of national leaders of China