A Chinese Communist Party Congress meeting a few months ago was intended to affirm President Xi Jinping for a second – and supposedly final – five-year term. Instead, it looked and felt like a coronation of someone settling in indefinitely, with hints of a personality cult.
Earlier on today Xinhua, a leading Chinese news agency, reported suggestions for 21 constitutional reforms that the government is proposing. Tucked away – suggestion number 14 – is the following (my translation):
Constitutional Article Seventy-Nine Section 3: ‘The terms of the President and Vice-President of The People’s Republic of China will coincide with the terms of the National People’s Assembly. Service from the President and Vice-President are not to exceed two consecutive terms’
will be changed to
‘The terms of the President and Vice-President of The People’s Republic of China will coincide with the terms of the National People’s Assembly.’
So the two-term presidency limit is being abolished, clearing the way for Papa Xi (as he’s known by his Chinese admirers) to settle down for good.
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