Photos of Xi Jinping's daughter publicized by state media
Staff Reporter
2015-02-01
An old photo of Xi Mingze, left, and Peng Liyuan published in a 2007 newspaper article. (Photo/CNA)
Baby Xi Mingze in the arms of her mother Peng Liyuan. (Internet photo)
Photos of Xi Mingze, the daughter of Chinese president Xi Jinping, have been publicized by China's state media for the first time.
On Wednesday evening, the Communist Party mouthpiece People's Daily forwarded through instant messaging app WeChat an old article on Xi's relationship with his wife, folk-singing legend Peng Liyuan, previously published in the Zhanjiang Evening News back in 2007.
The report contained several old family photos of Xi, Peng and their young daughter, who has managed to keep an extremely low profile all her life despite her status. While there are alleged photos of "China's First Princess" floating around the internet, this is the first time since Xi Jinping became Communist Party chief in November 2012 that a photo of his daughter has been published by state media.
In the article, Peng said she had wanted a son, but her husband got his wish when they had a daughter. The first lady also admitted that Xi Mingze looks a lot like Xi Jinping and that father and daughter have a special bond.
Very little information about Xi Mingze is known to the public. She was born on June 27, 1992 and attended a foreign language high school in Hanghzou, the capital of eastern China's Zhejiang province. In 2008, she began attending Zhejiang University, specializing in English translation and interpretation. Upon graduation she headed to the United States to commence postgraduate studies at Harvard University.
When US first lady Michelle Obama visited Beijing with her two daughters last March, Xi Mingze was said to have returned to China greet them during her spring break at Harvard.
The only time Xi Mingze has been mentioned in official state media was when Peng revealed on national broadcaster CCTV that her then-16-year-old daughter had become a volunteer worker after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.
