IN an attempt to further develop the cult of China's ''chief architect of reform'', Deng Xiaoping, a new film about the patriarch's later life is about to go into production.
The movie follows the publication of the third volume of Mr Deng's collected works, the first volume of the biography written by his daughter, Deng Rong, and numerous semi-official books and magazine articles about his life and works.
Posters and badges featuring the face of the ''chief architect'' have also started to make their appearance in the shops, evoking memories of the personality cult which surrounded Chairman Mao Zedong towards the end of his life.
Analysts said the mass of publicity surrounding Mr Deng was designed to establish a definitive place for the patriarch in the annals of Communist Party history before he finally dies.
A Western diplomat said: ''Deng is obviously in a very poor state of health and I get the feeling there is an increased sense of urgency about getting the Deng cult in place before he goes to meet Marx.'' The new film is to be directed by Ding Yinnan, who has previously made feature films about the lives of the founder of the Chinese Republic, Sun Yat-sen, and the late premier of the People's Republic, Zhou Enlai.
Film industry sources say that Ding was chosen largely because of his sycophantic and sanitised depiction of Zhou in the 1991 movie.