Xi is given power to rule for life as China scraps limit on terms
CHINESE legislators have passed a historic constitutional amendment that abolishes term limits and will enable President Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely.
Almost 3,000 hand-picked delegates of the National People’s Congress endorsed the constitutional amendment yesterday after voting 2,958 in favour with two opposed, three abstentions and one invalidate vote.
The amendment ends a system enacted by former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1982 to prevent a return to the bloody excesses of a lifelong dictatorship typified by Mao Zedong’s chaotic 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution.
The slide towards one-man rule under Mr Xi has fuelled concern Beijing is eroding efforts to guard against the excesses of autocratic leadership and make economic regulation more stable.
The constitution had previously limited China’s presidents to serving two consecutive terms.
Voting began in the mid-afternoon, with Mr Xi leading members of the sevenmember all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee in casting their votes.
He placed his orange ballot paper in a red box sitting on the stage of the cavernous hall. Rank-and-file deputies then rose to vote on the floor of the hall as jaunty instrumental music played.
Ten minutes later, the process had ended and delegates were asked to return to their seats while the votes were counted.
The results were then read out over the public address system and flashed briefly on a screen in the hall. “The constitutional amendment item has passed,” the announcer declared to polite applause.
Mr Xi appeared to show little emotion, remaining in his seat with other deputies to listen to a report on the work of the congress delivered by its outgoing chairman.
In a sign of the issue’s sensitivity, government censors are aggressively scrubbing social media of messages ranging from “I disagree” to “Xi Zedong”.
A number of prominent Chinese figures have publicly protested against the move, despite the risk of official retaliation.
The legislature’s spokesman has said the abolishing of term limits is aimed only at bringing the office of the president in line with Mr Xi’s other positions as head of the ruling Communist Party and the Central Military Commission, which do not impose term limits.
The move is widely seen as the culmination of 64-year-old Mr Xi’s efforts, since being appointed leader of the party in 2012, to concentrate power in his own hands and defy customs of collective leadership established over the past two decades.
He has appointed himself to head bodies that oversee national security, finance, economic reform and other major initiatives, effectively sidelining the party’s No 2 figure, Premier Li Keqiang.
Mr Xi’s confident, populist leadership style and tough attitude towards official corruption has won him a significant degree of popular support.
Zhao Minglin, 32, a vice president of an investment firm in Beijing, said it was easier for Mr Xi to carry out his ambitious vision of raising living standards in China if more power were concentrated in his hands.
“I will definitely support this constitutional amendment and this government. This is a powerful and strong government,” he said.
He added, however, that he was concerned the public discourse lacked a space for dissenting voices.
US President Donald Trump was criticised by some commentators for seeming to approve of Mr Xi’s unlimited rule, saying last week: “President for life... I think it’s great. Maybe we’ll have to give that a shot some day.”
This is a powerful government