SHANGHAI - China's star hurdler Liu Xiang has been elected as one of the deputy secretaries of China Communist Youth League Shanghai Sports Bureau Committee.

Liu, a former Olympic and world champion, attended a party in the capacity of the deputy secretary and made a speech to encourage Shanghai athletes to work hard and win honors for the country.

A source from Shanghai Sports Bureau said that Liu was selected as a deputy secretary in June, adding that women's swimming Olympic champion Liu Zige has also become a deputy secretary of the China Communist Youth League Shanghai Sports Bureau Committee.

But it was never made public. Even Liu's father Xuegen said that he had never heard about it. "I didn't know before you told me," Xuegen told Xinhua. "It's helpful for him. It can encourage him to work harder and give help to youngsters."

Li Yuyi, director of Shanghai Sports Bureau, said Liu is not an official.  "To be a deputy secretary of China Communist Youth League Shanghai Sports Bureau Committee does not mean that he will work and have an office here. He will take part in some activities but he is still an athlete. "

It's usually the first step for a top athlete to have a position in the Communist Youth League before pursuing higher ranks in his or her political career.

Deng Yaping, a former Olympic table tennis champion, became the Deputy Secretary of the China Communist Youth League Beijing Committee in 2009. She was promoted to become the deputy secretary of the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and president of Goso.cn, a news search engine launched by People's Daily in 2010.

The Communist Youth League, a leading youth organization in China, has been described as a school to teach youth about communism, and an assistant to and reserve force for the CPC.

Founded in 1922, the organization is under the leadership of the CPC and is considered to be the CPC's assistant and backup.