Profile: Xi Jinping: Man of the people, statesman of vision (21)

（Xinhua） 09:24, December 24, 2012

File photo taken in February 2012 shows Xi Jinping kicks a Gaelic football as he visits the headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland. (Xinhua)

SON OF REVOLUTIONARY FAMILY, CARING HUSBAND

Xi Jinping's father Xi Zhongxun was a Party and state leader. The senior Xi served as chairman of the Shaan-Gan Border Region, a CPC revolutionary base of the 1930s, and was called by Mao Zedong a "leader of the people."

Xi Zhongxun had suffered political persecution for 16 years beginning in 1962. However, he never gave in to adversity and ultimately helped clear the names of other people who were persecuted. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, he served as Party chief in Guangdong, the forefront of China's reform and opening-up drive, making important contributions to the establishment of special economic zones in the province and their rapid development.

Xi's mother Qi Xin, nearly 90 years of age, is also a veteran cadre and Party member. As a filial son, Xi takes walks and chats with his mother, holding her hand during the process, after he finds time to dine with her.

The Xi family has a tradition of being strict with children and living a simple life. Xi Zhongxun believed if a senior Party official wanted to discipline others, he should begin first with himself and his family. Xi Jinping and his younger brother used to wear clothes and shoes handed down from their elder sisters. After Xi Jinping became a leading official, his mother called a family meeting to ban the siblings from engaging in business where Xi Jinping worked.

Xi Jinping has carried on his family's tradition and has been strict with family members. Wherever he worked, he told the family members not to do business there or do anything in his name, or else he "would be ruthless." Whether in Fujian, Zhejiang or Shanghai, he pledged at official meetings that no one was allowed to seek personal benefit using his name and welcomed supervision in this regard.

Xi married Peng Liyuan, a renowned and well-liked soprano and opera singer. In 1980, Peng, on the behalf of the Shandong provincial delegation, caused quite a stir while attending a national art performance in Beijing.