President’s term of office debate proceeds
THE MUCH debated draft amendments to the People’s Republic of China’s (CRT) constitution are set to be tabled before the National People’s Congress (NPC) – which is the country’s legislative body – today.
The NPC session, which is set to run until March 20, is a policy conference at which elections for state officials are held, and various policy amendments such as tax laws and pollution policies are tabled and discussed. But top of the agenda this year are amendments to a provision in the constitution which states that the president “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms”.
Asked at a media briefing yesterday whether increasing the presidential term to an indefinite number of years from two terms was not risky as it could set president Xi Jinping on a path of being an absolute power hungry autocrat, NPC spokesperson Zhang Yesui said the People’s Republic of China prided itself in upholding constitutional principles and that amendments were vital for strengthening the country’s leadership and economic growth.
“Revising the constitution is a big thing in our country’s political life. Throughout the whole process certain principles were followed, including fully exercising democracy. We only change part of the provisions, not drastic changes, so as to maintain continuity, economic stability and growth,” Zhang said.
Professor of International Relations at Renmin University of China, Wang Yiwei, shared the same sentiments, telling Independent Media that amendments which will extend the term of office of the president will ensure continuity in that an elected head of state will get a chance to see through policies adopted during his tenure.
Wang further said investor confidence will be boosted with the president staying on for longer as that will guarantee economic stability.
The NPC standing committee will today give an explanation of the draft amendments and officials will then vote for, or against, the amendments next Sunday (March 11). If adopted, the amendments will be the country’s fifth since its constitution came into effect in 1982.
Also to be deliberated on during the NPC session is the Supervision Law, which Zhang said will “strengthen the leadership of the party against corruption”.
“It is a national law on corruption (and) its duty is to fight corruption with distinct Chinese features. It will modernise China’s governance system and capabilities. To implement this important reform, the standing committee adopted two decisions. It solicited public opinion before preparing this draft (of the Supervision Law) that will be submitted to this conference for deliberations,” said Zhang.
He also touched on foreign investment, saying 20 pieces of law will be introduced in 2018, three of them being specifically on foreign investment. This, he said, will be in line with the country’s open economy principles.
“Equal attention will be given to outward and inward investment to foster an environment with a level playing field… protecting interests of foreign investors the same way interests of Chinese investors are protected.”
With air pollution continuing to plague the country, Zhang said stringent measures will be taken to ensure that pollution levels are minimised in line with stringent environmental protection laws introduced in 2015.
“The government at all levels has taken solid steps in addressing the problem and we’ve seen significant progress. For the past couple of days the air has been smoggy but over the past year we’ve had better quality air. For the past five years environmental issues have been put on the agenda.
“The standing committee modified six pieces of legislation (water, marine and air pollution) and with all these efforts a comprehensive framework is taking shape.
“This year, the standing committee will continue to prioritise environmental issues, review the law on soil pollution and conduct inspections to ensure air pollution laws and marine laws are fully enforced to ensure we win the war against pollution,” he said.