China votes to let Xi rule indefinitely

Term limits had been adopted in 1982 to prevent totalitarian repression

China’s national legislature approved constitutional changes Sunday that could allow Xi Jinping to remain president for life and retain indefinitely his iron grip on the world’s most populous nation.

The National People’s Congress approved elimination of a two-term limit on the presidency with little dissent. Only two of the almost 3,000 handpicked members voted against the changes.

The vote took place at the Great Hall of the People on iconic Tiananmen Square, where almost 30 years ago student-led pro-democracy protests were crushed by the Communist regime.

The changes end term limits adopted in 1982 to prevent the type of totalitarian repression highlighted by Mao Zedong during his brutal Cultural Revolution. The constitutional changes also adopt Xi’s “Thoughts on Socialism” and recognize the unconditional authority of the Communist Party.

Xi has won widespread support in China for his pragmatic approach to economic growth and his crackdown on corruption. But Cary Huang, a columnist with the South China Morning Post, warns that Xi has expanded his crackdown to include political dissent, citing a “broader crusade to root out anyone disloyal or who fails to comply with his orders.”

Under Xi, China has asserted itself in Asian affairs, including a controversial effort to renew its territorial claims in the South China Sea. It has boosted its military capabilities and unveiled a vast international logistics and transportation project called the “Belt and Road” initiative that aims to connect Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Xi also has used China’s relationship with North Korea as leverage with the U.S., and China has taken some credit for tentative inroads in the relationship between Washington and Pyongyang.