Scrapping president’s term limit is good or bad for China?

China to drop presidential term limits, clearing way for Xi Jinping to stay on
By聽James Griffiths聽and聽Tim Schwarz, CNN
Updated 1227 GMT (2027 HKT) February 25, 2018
(CNN) China's Communist Party (CCP) has proposed amending the country's constitution to allow President Xi Jinping to serve a third term in office. State-run news agency Xinhua said the Party will remove the provision that the President and Vice President "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms" from the constitution of the People's Republic of China. The proposed amendment will have to be ratified by China's rubber-stamp parliament -- the National People's Congress (NPC) -- in March. When it goes into effect, Xi will be free to serve indefinitely as China's head of state, the strongest indication yet he is intending to maintain power at the top beyond the two 5-year terms served by his predecessors for the past 20 years … for more, go to https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/25/asia/china-communist-party-xi-jinping-intl/index.html

Scrapping president’s term limit is good or bad for China?

KUALA LUMPUR (February 2018): The amending of the People’s Republic of China (PRC)’s constitution to scrap the presidential and vice-presidential’s two five-year term limit in office is receiving mixed response domestically and internationally.

Domestically, those who dared to speak up against the amendments feared that the move would create a dictatorship or authoritarian rule.

Internationally, the response depends on whether the feedback is coming from pro-US quarters or pro-China-Russia supporters.

To the pro-US supporters, it is bad news. President Xi Jinping’s extended rule means the US will continue to suffer further from global economic and technology misery.

Xi is bad news to the US as he is the architect of China’s rapid transformation into a world super power, economically and technologically at the expense of the US’ fast deteriorating global influence.

The US’ current misery is further stressed by its humongous national debt of US$20 trillion, with others estimating it at US$222 trillion! (Read this for context: https://ilovemalaysiachinasilkroad.blogspot.my/2018/01/is-us-debt-us20-trillion-or-us222.html - Is the US debt US$20 trillion or US$222 trillion?)

To some, they argue that if a leader is clean and efficient, then continuity would be excellent.

So, what do you think? Is the amendment of the constitution good for China?

Read this for the details:

LATESTCHINA INSIGHT

Xi Jinping Can Now Stay in Office After Second Term – Weibo Responds

Amendments to the constitution of the PRC may lead to a potential indefinite rule for Xi Jinping.

Published on February 25, 2018
By Manya Koetse

Image by CCTV.com.
The official announcement that the Central Committee of the Communist Party in China will amend the constitution of the PRC in some important ways, including a potential indefinite rule for China’s current president Xi Jinping, has triggered consternation on social media.

Ahead of Monday’s three-day Central Committee “plenum” in Beijing (十九届三中全会 – Feb 26 to 28), official Chinese news agencies (e.g. Xinhua) have reported that the meeting will address some important “structural reforms” to the constitution of the PRC.

On February 25, South China Morning Post‘s Matt Ho wrote that the institutional changes include a proposal by the Communist Party to remove the expression that the president and vice-president “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms.”

This means that Xi Jinping could potentially stay in office after his second five-year term of presidency ends in 2023.

The news caused some consternation on Weibo and in WeChat circles, where it was received with some apprehension; some called the idea of Xi’s potential indefinite rule “scary.”


“Our emperor has received the Mandate of Heaven, so we have to kneel and accept,” a person on Weibo said.


A news item by CCTV on the issue soon received nearly 10,000 shares on Sina Weibo, but its comment section was turned off.

Many online reactions were censored on Sunday evening, and people also addressed the censorship.

On some threads that discussed the topic in a negative light, netizens warned others that they were “walking a tightrope.”

An image of Winnie the Pooh dressed up as a king also made its rounds on social media on Sunday. Winnie the Pooh has gone from cute bear to political meme on Weibo since netizens found resemblances between President Xi Jinping and the bear.


Another person replies: “Today is a big day in history. Even though I work in law, I’m ashamed to say I don’t understand the big implications [of this rule] (..).”

“I am not too pessimistic [about this],” another commenter wrote: “But then again, I’m not positive either.”

Besides critique, there was also some confusion on social media, with many netizens wondering whether or not the new law has already passed. Officially, China’s constitution still needs to be modified, so the law has not been formally passed -just yet.

By Manya Koetse Spotted a mistake or want to add something? Please let us know in comments below or email us. ©2018 Whatsonweibo. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce our content without permission – you can contact us at info@whatsonweibo.com.

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Lintao Zhang | Pool | Getty Images
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends Roundtable Summit Phase One Sessions of Belt and Road forum on May 15, 2017.

China launches propaganda push for Xi Jinping after social media backlash
· China's plan for President Xi Jinping to remain in office indefinitely has sparked opposition on social media on Sunday.
· The ruling Communist Party had proposed to remove a constitutional clause limiting presidential service to just two terms in office, meaning Xi, who also heads the party and the military, might never have to retire.
· By Monday, China had quickly swung into a concerted propaganda push, blocking some articles and publishing pieces praising the party … for more, go to https://www.cnbc.com/2018/02/25/china-presidential-term-limits-propaganda-push-for-xi-jinping-after-social-media-backlash.html

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