The Chinese People’s Assembly will approve this Monday a Constitutional reform that will allow Xi Jinping to be re-elected as President of the PRC (People’s Republic of China) beyond the two-term five-year limit currently established by the Chinese Ground Law.
Some pro-government newspapers, such as the People’s Daily, have quickly pointed out that this amendment to the Constitution that removes the two-term limit for the re-election of the President of the Republic does not mean that Xi Jinping can perpetuate himself holding the Presidential seat till he dies. This is the way in which PRC’s government faces internal criticism saying China is becoming another North Korea, whcin were triggered by the reform proposal.
The limit to the President’s re-election was established in Article 79 of the Constitution as a way to avoid personalism and other mistakes experienced in the past. The amendment of Art. 79 has been proposed and approved by the Standing Committee of the Popular Assembly. It is needed to achieve a strong leadership, able to make the country evolve into the next stage of social, economic and political development (towards the communism of the XXI century to the Chinese way. The amenement is needed for building an stable leadership able to achieve the objectives not only of the comunist party, but also for the country.
The adepts to Xi Jinping at the Peoples Assembly are enough to guarantee the approval of the Art 79 reform.
As explained by the People’s Daily, the amendment does not mean a change in the retirement rules established for national and party leaders. There’s no change as well in the retirement system for the the main civil servants of the country.
The Constitution of the Communist Party, which is different from the country’s Constitution, clearly states that leaders cannot keep their positions forever. If their health does not allow them to adequately fulfill the duties of the office, they must get retired. The not written regulation has been , to date, that senior officials can not be promoted after they reach their 68 years old.
But Wang Qishan left his position as the leader of the Standing Commitee in the Comunist Party when he was 69 years old and this great ally of Xi Jinping will probably be appointed by the People’s Assembly as Vice President with specific duties related to the Trump Administration. The case of Wan Qishan could set a precedent for Xi Jinping to perpetuate his power indefinitely.
Xi, who also holds the position of President of the Central Military Commission, began his second term as head of the Chinese Communist Party last October, after having carried out an anti-corruption campaign that led to fire 1,000,000 officials, sometimes under legal proceedings. Many of the officials dismissed and accused were not exactly supporters of Xi, currently Chairman of the Party, the PRC and the Central Military Commission.
The Third Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Communist Party of the PRC was held in Beijing from February 26th to February 28th this year. There the support to Xi’s projects was crystal clear.
Image on the headline.- Xi Jinping (President of the PRC). Photo by Angélica Rivera de Peña. Uploaded by ASDFGH, CC BY-SA 2.0. To watch the original photo, click here
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