Chinese president Xi Jinping, who also heads the Communist Party of China and Chairman of the Central Military, might never have to retire. Criticism on social media platforms sparked a concerted propaganda push by Monday.
The ruling Communist party’s decision to abolish presidential term limits a move experts and critics have condemned as a lurch towards unchecked dictatorship in China is designed to “ensure people live happier lives”, a pro-Beijing newspaper has claimed.
State-run media published new editorials praising the Central Committee’s proposed amendment, which is expected to be approved during the legislative session and would allow Xi to stay in power, which began in 2012 and now looks likely to continue well into the 2030s.
China went into overdrive on Tuesday to defend the Communist Party’s move to lift term limits for President Xi Jinping as criticism persisted on social media in defiance of censorship.
The party has shocked many observers by proposing a constitutional amendment to end the two-term limit for president, giving Xi a clear path to rule the world’s second largest economy for life.
Censors have scrambled to block critical comments on social media but users of the Twitter-like Weibo website continued to speak out on Tuesday, two days after the party’s announcement. “So pathetic, we have 1.3 billion people, no one can resist,” wrote one user.
Another lamented the lack of political reform: “I once believed that I could see a president elected by one man, one vote in my lifetime.”
Censors blocked searches for the phrases “I object”, “proclaimed king”, “tenure system” and “Winnie the Pooh” the portly cartoon bear to which Xi has been compared.
“I hope everyone can acknowledge the voice of all the Chinese people,” foreign ministry spokesperson Lu Kang told reporters at a press briefing on Monday in comments that were subsequently purged from the meeting’s official record.
>Juthy Saha
Criticism Over China’s Xi Plan To Stay In Power
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