China’s rubber-stamp lawmakers have passed a historic constitutional amendment that abolishes term limits and will enable President Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely.
The National People’s Congress’ nearly 3,000 hand-picked delegates endorsed the constitutional amendment on Sunday, voting 2,958 in favour with two opposed, three abstaining and one vote invalidated.
The move reverses the era of ‘collective’ leadership and orderly succession that was promoted by form Deng Xiaoping to ensure stability following the turbulent one-man rule of Communist China’s founder Mao Zedong.
Delegates of the National People’s Congress applauded after each vote on the constitutional amendment to lift the limit of two five-year terms for the presidency.
China’s rubber-stamp lawmakers have passed a historic constitutional amendment that abolishes term limits and will enable President Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely
The slide toward one-man rule under Xi has fuelled concern that Beijing is eroding efforts to guard against the excesses of autocratic leadership and make economic regulation more stable and predictable.
Xi stood up first at the imposing Great Hall of the People in Beijing to cast his paper ballot in a red box.
The first constitutional amendment in 14 years had been expected to breeze through the legislature, which has never rejected a Communist Party diktat in its half-century of existence.
‘This is the urgent wish of the common people,’ Ju Xiuqin, a delegate from northeastern Heilongjiang province, said, echoing party claims that the amendment had the unanimous support of ‘the masses’.
Xi stood up first at the imposing Great Hall of the People in Beijing to cast his paper ballot in a red box (left), while delegates applauded after every vote
Xi, 64, has consolidated power since 2012 when he was appointed to the country’s top office: general secretary of the Communist Party.
While the position has no term limits, his two predecessors both gave it up after two terms as part of an orderly process established by Deng.
Th presidency is a largely ceremonial office, but the constitutional limits meant Xi would have had to give it up in 2023.
But with the new amendments, he could now have a lifetime to push his goal of turning China into global economic powerhouse with a ‘world-class’ military by mid-century.