Will Xi rule for life?
China’s parliament set to change the constitution so Xi Jinping can be president for as long as he wants.
The Communist Party has governed China for decades and President Xi Jinping could become the leader serving Chinese people for years to come. The two-term limit for presidents will soon end.
China’s National People’s Congress is expected to amend the constitution to allow the president to take the job beyond 10 years. The limit was meant to ensure there would not be a repeat of Mao Zedong’s rule, which lasted for decades.
Protecting the authority of the Communist Party has been cited as the reason behind scrapping the presidency term limits.
But will that convince anyone in China or anywhere else?
Presenter: Mohammed Jamjoom
Guests:
Victor Gao – Director, China National Association of International Studies
Joseph Cheng – Convenor, the Alliance for True Democracy
Kerry Brown – author of CEO, China: The Rise of Xi Jinping