'THE private is the political' - a glimpse into the private life of China's late chairman Mao Zedong's daughter Li Min in an official newspaper could well be read in Chinese politics as a political gauge of how Mao is revered by Beijing.
An article recently published by the Beijing Youth Daily has provided revelations on the daily living of Ms Li, considered the most reclusive of Mao's children.
Mao's relatives have kept a low profile, but official media have shown special interest in them recently, shedding light on the secretive lives of the children and the late leader.
According to a dispatch yesterday from the semi-official Hong Kong China News Agency, the article said that Ms Li, Mao's daughter by his second wife, 'still remained mostly at home, and rarely had contact with the outside world'.
'Situated on the second floor of an old building in Beijing's Dianmen district, Ms Li's house has a small sitting room . . . the three walls of which are filled with big portraits of the late Mao and his wife He Zizhen,' the article said.
'Another big portrait of Mao was hanging in her bedroom. Several bundles of fresh flowers are put before the picture which is flanked by the elegiac couplet 'Cherish Forever'.