The central government named the former deputy minister in charge of the propaganda department the new editor-in-chief of Communist Party mouthpiece the , the Hong Kong-based reports. The reshuffle within the Communist Party's propaganda machine comes ahead of the party's 18th congress in Beijing next week. The opening left by the appointment of Cai Mingzhao will be filled by 62-year-old Wu Hengquan, a former editor-in-chief of the . Cai, 57, is a former journalist with Xinhua. He was appointed deputy director of the Information Office under the State Council in 2001 and was in charge of online media and foreign language publications. He was named deputy minister of propaganda in 2009. Cai has spoken out several times against the dissemination of false news online. Laura Zhou
Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council yesterday confirmed that Hu Deping , a son of late Communist Party general secretary Hu Yaobang , had visited Taiwan privately. Spokesman Jonathan Liu said the council had been aware of the visit, but did not deal with his entry as a special case, given that he made the request for a visit in line with Taiwanese regulations. Liu declined to comment on whether Hu had met senior Taiwanese officials. Taiwanese media reported that Hu, who visited Taiwan from October 19 to 28, met Interior Minister Lee Hung-yuan and senior Kuomintang officials, including former chairmen Lien Chan and Wu Poh-hsiung. Media reports said that it was Hu's first visit to Taiwan. Lawrence Chung
