Mao Xinyu

By Liu Dong

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.

The only child of Mao Anqing, the late Chairman's second son, Mao Xinyu was born in 1970 and studied history at Renmin University of China. He earned a Ph.D at the Academy of Military Sciences and joined the army while pursuing his doctoral studies.

"It was after joining the army that I began to really understand grandpa…As a soldier, I regard him as our leader and commander-in-chief,"he told the Southern People Weekly last week.

Mao, who feels that upholding the Mao Zedong Thought is his unshakable responsibility, has authored a number of books, including the award-winning My Grandfather Mao Zedong (2003 edition).

Mao repeatedly expressed his respect for his grandfather.

"My grandpa has the most significant influence on my life,"he said, according to China News Service.

"My grandpa is the inspiration driving my progress."

Mao, who has read a wide number of biographies about Mao Zedong, voiced his averseness to books written by Americans, which, in his view, are filled with distortions and biased accounts, according to China News Service.

Mao also maintains a highly touted blog that has a big following.