China Fights Outrage Over Constitutional Change

Sunday’s announcement of the abolition of term limits on the presidency in China sparked outrage and social media opposition, with many comparing the government to North Korea’s ruling dynasty.

Xi Jinping will never have to retire from the presidency should the abolition of the constitutional clause come into fruition.

Additionally, analysts warned that the move, which is perceived to extend president Xi Jinping’s term indefinitely, could be a sign of weakness, with the Chinese leader appearing to be scared of a potential political rival.

If the proposed abolition comes into fruition, observers believe that there will be a power struggle among wannabe successors within the Communist Party, putting the world’s most populous country into instability.

Moreover, Xi’s absolute authority will put absolute blame on him if an economic shock or a foreign policy crisis befalls Asia’s second-largest economy. The latter instance would be more probable, with China having a more bullish military and diplomatic policy.

The Term Limit Abolition

On Sunday, the ruling Communist Party proposed to remove the constitutional clause that limits presidential service. The current constitution only allows two terms in office.

The proposal is just a part of a package of amendments to the current constitution. It will be passed by delegates loyal to the party next month during the annual meeting of China’s parliament.

Additionally, it will add Xi’s political thought to the constitution. It will also set a legal framework for a powerful anti-corruption superbody, aside from fortifying the ruling party’s power control.

However, the party still has to face some potential headwinds when it comes to convincing some in the country that Xi would not acquire too much power. Xi is quite popular among the people for his war on graft, and he heads both the party and the military.

Amid the heated international media attention, China’s foreign ministry, which does not typically comment on non-diplomatic matters, stated that amending the constitution was a matter of the country’s people.

The constitution was first adopted in 1954, and since then everybody witnessed how it was “continuously improved,” according to Lu Kang, who spoke during an early news briefing.

“I hope everyone can acknowledge the voice of all the Chinese people,” said Kang.

State Media vs. Social Media Outrage

Following the announcement of the move, state-run newspaper Global Times penned an editorial, which said that the change did not mean the permanence of Xi’s presidency. It did not, however, offered any explanation for such claim.

“Since reform and opening up, China, led by the Communist Party, has successfully resolved and will continue to effectively resolve the issue of party and national leadership replacement in a law-abiding and orderly matter,” the editorial said, pertaining to landmark economic reforms that began four decades ago.

Further, the party’s official People’s Daily reprinted an article by Xinhua news agency and claimed that most people supported the amendments.

“The broad party of officials and the masses say that they hoped this constitutional reform is passed,” it wrote.

People’s Daily WeChat account posted a string of positive comments under the article, but disabled the comments section late on Sunday. Monday saw the section unblocked, complete with more positive remarks for the ruling party.

Chinese netizens also expressed themselves, with jokes and memes circulating online. One was a picture of a condom in its wrapper, captioned: “doing it twice is not enough.”

Others shared photos of Winnie the Pooh, which is an internet meme for president Xi’s supposed resemblance to the cartoon character. Image sensors have repeatedly removed such postings.

“Argh, we’re going to become North Korea,” a Weibo user wrote.

Another wrote the same but worded it differently, saying, “We’re following the example of our neighbor.”

Weibo, which is China’s version of Twitter, removed the comments late on Sunday, and started blocking the search term “two term limit.”

Meanwhile, Chinese speculators pounced on stocks bearing the word “emperor” in their name.

HQBroker is here to give you a daily news roundup about the forex, commodities, technologies, automobiles, and economies. You can open an account now and make yourself updated with essential news in the market. Share your thoughts and experiences with us by commenting your HQBroker reviews.