Xi’s election supported by whole nation
Hailed as helmsman of country, guide of people
Xi Jinping was elected Chinese president by a unanimous vote Saturday morning at the ongoing session of the 13th National People’s Congress (NPC).
Xi, 64, was also elected chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People’s Republic of China by a unanimous vote.
Right after the election, Xi took a public oath of allegiance to the Constitution.
This was the first time for a Chinese president to take such an oath upon assuming office.
Party and military flagship newspapers hailed Xi as the “helmsman of the country” and “guide of the people” in their editorials published on Sunday.
“A major country’s sailing trips need a helmsman and the journey to national rejuvenation calls for a guide,” read an editorial of the People’s Daily published on Sunday.
Practices have proved that Xi is the pathfinder of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era and the navigator in achieving the great
dream of national rejuvenation. He is no doubt the lingxiu, or leader, who is supported by the whole Party and loved by the people, it said.
The newspaper said that national rejuvenation was not an easy goal or a mission that could be accomplished merely by cheerful words.
We have never stood so close to the goal of achieving national rejuvenation and we are more confident and capable than ever of achieving it, the editorial said, adding that there were no obstacles the country could not conquer or miracles it could not make as long as the country was closely united around the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee with Xi at the core.
Similar narratives also appeared in the editorial of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Daily published on Sunday, which said that the PLA, as a military force under the absolute leadership of the Party, will resolutely safeguard Party authority with Xi at the core and be a powerful force to achieve the Chinese Dream and the dream of a strong army.
In the president’s first five-year tenure, China has made historic achievements and undergone historic changes. Having “stood up” and “grown rich,” China is “becoming strong,” the Xinhua News Agency reported Saturday.
Over that period, China has seen its economy expand to more than 82 trillion yuan ($13 trillion) from 54 trillion yuan.
All-round support
“The result is in line with the will of the people,” said Liu Jiaqi, a farmer from the Southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality, and one of the 2,970 national lawmakers who cast their votes at the Great Hall of the People on Saturday.
“The country worked out a detailed poverty relief timetable, and has been pushing ahead with rural industries,” he told Xinhua. “Under the leadership of President Xi, our farmers can expect a better life in the years to come,” Liu said.
More than 68.5 million people had been lifted out of poverty in five years, and the middle-income population has reached 400 million.
“I am so lucky to be part of such a great age led by a great man,” Yu Zhigang, an NPC deputy, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.
“The unanimous vote showed that as our leader Xi has our full support and trust and bears our high expectation,” Yu said.
Gesang Zhoigar, an NPC deputy from Tibet Autonomous Region, was also deeply touched by the election. “Being one of more than 3 million people from Tibet, I have strong trust in Comrade Xi, the whole Party’s core, our nation’s leader and the army’s commander,” she said.