Children not reading enough? Why not get them the new kids' series Hello Xiaoping about the life and times of China's late paramount leader?
Looking for a movie to take a date to on Friday night? How about the new thriller Deng Xiaoping in 1928, premiering in Shanghai soon?
Want to take in a little culture on your coming visit to Hong Kong? Why not stop by the exhibition on the great achievements and exploits of, you guessed it, Deng Xiaoping (
The diminutive leader who memorably proclaimed "to get rich is glorious" died seven years ago, but he is making a big splash in China in the run-up to the 100th anniversary of his birth on Aug. 22.
State media are pumping out stories about Deng, his life, his achievements and the impact of the policy of "reform and opening up" he launched in the late 1970s in the wake of Chairman Mao Zedong's (毛澤東) death.
Celebrity foreign statesmen are quoted as praising Deng.
"His contribution to current China is decisive," former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger told state news agency Xinhua.
An online Xinhua survey showed that many Chinese Web surfers were "very impressed with some of Deng's famous remarks, such as `I am the son of Chinese people and I deeply love my country and the people.'"
Pundits are praising Deng's laissez-faire approach to profit-making, encapsulated in his retort to hardline Maoist ideologues -- "it doesn't matter whether the cat is black or white, as long as it catches mice."
"China should adhere to developed Marxism, which is now represented by the Deng Xiaoping Theory and the `Three Represents' idea," Xinhua quoted "a leading philosopher" as saying in another article extolling the late Chinese leader.
The "Three Represents," credited to Deng's successor Jiang Zemin (江澤民), who presides over the Chinese army as chairman of the Central Military Commission, effectively gerrymanders the Communist Party's core constituency to include entrepreneurs alongside workers and peasants.
Enthusiasts can use their newly made profits to buy any manner of new Deng products on the market, from postage stamps to picture books to limited-edition wristwatches.
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