This Sunday, March 11th, 2018, China's National People's Congress amended the constitution, eliminating presidential term limits.
Photo credit: http://thehill.com/policy/international/377830-china-abolishes-presidential-term-limits (The Hill)
In Brief
This Sunday, China's National People's Congress amended the constitution, eliminating presidential term limits.
Here are some stats:
Almost 3000 delegates to the National People's Congress (NPC) gathered to vote on multiple proposed amendments (one of them being term limits)
Of the 2,964 ballots, only two delegates voted against abolishing term limits, and three abstained.
Since the 1990's, China has restricted the presidency to two consecutive five-year terms.
President Xi Jinping was set to leave his position in 2023, but this historic constitutional alteration has now crowned him as indefinite ruler of China. This development in Chinese politics is reflective of the era of Chairman Mao Zedong in that Mr. Xi has methodically collected a powerful support structure, and his political ideology known as Xi Jinping Thought has been fully embraced by the party's constitution. Today marks a complete flip-flop in the rules of governance in China, and President Xi know lies at the heart of this framework.
President Xi Jinping was set to leave his position in 2023, but this historic constitutional alteration has now crowned him as indefinite ruler of China.
What is Xi Jinping Thought?
Photo credit: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/24/world/asia/china-xi-jinping-communist-party.html (The New York Times)
The political ideology of President Xi is officially known as “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era." Xi Jinping Thought mirrors the political doctrine of Chairman Mao, known as "Mao Zedong Thought", and Xi's ideology is rooted in the consolidation and reinforcement of the power of the nation, its people, and its leader.
On the topic of President Xi's doctrine, Wu Qiang, a political analyst in Bejing and past teacher at Tsinghua University, told The New York Times:
“This is a way of trying to project his historic stature. The congress report and the party constitution revisions both show that Xi wants to be a kind of peer with the past leaders. That doesn’t mean he sees himself as rivaling Mao in importance, but I think it’s intended to give him an ideological status that can’t be challenged, like Mao in that sense.”
Now let's explore the components of Xi Jinping Thought:
1. The Nation
Since Xi Jinping's ascension to the Presidency in 2012, a main feature of his agenda has been to restore China to its "former ancient glory" .
As the world's second largest economy, China has become integral in the realm of trade and international dealings. President Xi has invested $1 trillion in an international trade program known as Belt and Road.
President Xi has poured copious amounts of resources and money into transforming his nation into a military powerhouse as well.
2. The People
In the eyes Xi Jinping and the Communist Party, the power of the people is lead by a single-party rule, and the nation's people are strengthened by recognizing the supremacy of this rule.
3. The Leader
At the core of Xi Jinping Thought is the president himself. There cannot exist a powerful nation, people, or party without the aid of its supreme leader. The image of a mighty and powerful Xi Jinping has finally been achieved with the removal of presidential term limits.
According to the BBC News:
"Schoolchildren, college students and staff at state factories will have to study the political ideology, which the Communist Party is trying to portray as a new chapter for modern China."