The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Historic vote in China lets president rule for life
China returns to system that prevailed during era of Mao.
China’s BEIJING most — Xi Jinping, powerful already leader since Mao Zedong, received a vastly expanded mandate Sunday as lawmakers abolished presidential term limits that have been in place for more than 35 years and wrote his political philoso- phy into the country’s constitution. In one swi f t vote, the
rubber-stamp legislature opened up the possibility of Xi serving as president for life, returning China to the one-man-rule system that prevailed during the era of Mao and the emperors who came before him.
tional The amendments package of constitu- passed the nearly 3,000-member National People’s Congress almost unanimously, with just two opposing votes and three abstentions. The vote further underscored the total dominance of Chinese politics possessed by the 64-yearold Xi, who serves simultaneously as the head of state, leader of the ruling Communist Party and commander of the powerful 1 million-member armed forces.
The move upends 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’s chaotic 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution.
“This marks the biggest regression in China’s legal system since the reform and opening-up era of the 1980s,” said Zhang Lifan, an indepen- dent Beijing-based political commentator. be “I’m written afraid into that our this history will all in the future,” Zhang said. The change is widely seen as the culmination of Xi’s efforts since being appointed leader of the party in 2012 to concentrate power in his own hands and defy norms of collective leadership established over the past two decades. Xi has appointed himself to head bodies that oversee national security, finance, economic reform and other major initiatives, effectively sidelining the Communist Party’s No. 2 figure, Premier Li the In Keqiang. limitation addition that to scrapping presidents can serve only two consecutive also terms, inserted the Xi’s amendments personal political philosophy into the preamble of the constitu- tion, along with phrasing that emphasizes the party’s leadership. “It is rare nowadays to see a country with a constitution that emphasizes the consti- tutional position of any one political party,” Zhang said. Voting among the legisla- ture’s hand-picked delegates began in the mid-afternoon, with Xi leading members of
the party’s seven-member all-powerful Politburo Standing Committee in casting their ballots on a stage inside a cavernous hall. He placed his orange ballot paper in a red box bearing the official seal of state.
Rank-and-file deputies then rose to vote on the floor of the hall as jaunty instru- mental music played. The process was over in 10 minutes, and delegates returned to their seats while the votes were counted.
Shortly after 3:50 p.m., the results were read over the
public-address system and flashed briefly on a screen in the hall.
“The co n stitutional amendment item has passed,” the announcer declared to polite applause.
Xi showed 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. The slide toward one-man
rule under Xi has fueled con- cern that Beijing is eroding efforts to guard against the excesses of autocratic leadership.
The head of the legislature’s legal affairs committee, Shen Chunyao, dismissed those worries as “specula
tion that is ungrounded and without basis.”
Shen told reporters that the party’s 90-year history has led to a system of orderly succession to “maintain the vitality and long-term stability of the party and the people.”
“We believe in the future that we will continue with this path and discover an
evenbrighter future,” Shen said.
In a sign of the issue’s sensitivity, government censors have aggressively scrubbed social media of expressions ranging from “I disagree” to “Xi Zedong.” A number of prominent Chinese figures have publicly protested the move, despite the risk of retaliation.
Officials have said the elimination of presidential term limits is aimed only at bringing the office of the president in line with Xi’s other positions atop the Communist Party and the Central Military Commis
sion, which do not impose term limits.
While some scholars ques-
tioned the wisdom of the move, others said they saw value in sending the message that Xi would be setting policy for many years to come.
“In fact, the more Xi Jinping’s position is consol- idated and the longer his governing time is to last, the more secure it is for the continuity of the policies,” said Liu Jiangyong, a professor at Renmin University’s School of International Relations.