IT was Deng Xiaoping's second daughter who once wryly remarked that an old Chinese proverb held that 'the fatter the pig, the better the chances that it will end up in the stew pot'.
Deng Rong, who has acted as Mr Deng's 'imperial lip reader' since 1989, knows that the death of her father could bring disaster on the Deng clan. In communist China, as in imperial times, the fortunes of the children are tied to the political star of their progenitor.
In ancient times, aspirants to the throne would massacre the relatives of the previous emperor to the fourth degree. In the communist era, when Mr Deng fell from power, his children became victims too. Mr Deng's first-born, Deng Pufang, was pushed, or fell, from a third-floor dormitory window at the Beijing University to become a paraplegic.
Now, as Mr Deng's appointed successor Jiang Zemin struggles to establish his grip on power, the rumours of threats to Mr Deng's children are multiplying. His favourite son, Deng Zhifang, is said to be a victim of Mr Jiang's anti-corruption purge; his wife Zhuo Lin is said to have attempted suicide; his niece, Ding Peng, stands accused of gross fraud in Shenzhen; and a few months ago Deng Rong was severely reprimanded for talking too loosely about her father's health and speculating about the reversal of the verdict on the Tiananmen Square crackdown of 1989.
This is not the first time that political power plays have been linked to investigations into activities of the Deng children. More than six years ago Mr Deng's grip on power was thought to be slackening when the State Council closed down the huge Kanghua conglomerate which was operating under the aegis of Deng Pufang's China Welfare Fund.
The rumours are based on the assumption that Mr Deng's children are untouchable as long as he holds power. Therefore if low-ranking officials dare to touch them, it must follow that Mr Deng has lost power. The only authority for such actions could come from Mr Jiang alone.