CPC's key meet endorses plan to end 2-term limit for Xi

Beijing: The ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) today reportedly endorsed proposals to end two term limit for President Xi Jinping at the end of a three-day Plenum of the party. This year’s plenum assumed significance as ahead of the meeting CPC proposed to do away with the two-term limit for the President and Vice President through a constitutional amendment.

The removal of the term limit followed by previous Presidents, Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, to ensure collective leadership would virtually pave the way for a life term for Xi, raising concerns at home and abroad. Murmurs of rare dissent over the move to remove the term limit for President Xi were surfaced in the popular social media.

Li Datong, a former editor at the state-run China Youth Daily, posted a draft letter urging Chinese legislators to vote against the move saying that it would take the country back to era of CPC founder Mao Zedong. “It (the restriction) was the highest and most effective legal restriction meant to prevent autocracy or putting individuals above the party and the state,” he said in his letter in popular social media app, Wechat.

It was quickly blocked by official censors. State-run news agency Xinhua reported that Xi, who is the general secretary of the party, made an “important” speech at the session. It, however, gave no details. An official statement after the Plenary meet said the plenary session reviewed and adopted a decision by the CPC Central Committee on deepening reform of Party and state institutions as well as a plan for the reform.

On February 25, CPC Central Committee proposed to remove the expression that the President and Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China “shall serve no more than two consecutive terms” from the country’s Constitution.

The move along with the host of new appointments for the top posts were expected to be announced after approved by National People s Congress (NPC). The NPC, which is China’s Parliament often termed as rubber stamp legislature for its routine endorsement of the CPC proposals, is set to meet from March 5.

Coinciding with the plenary meeting, China’s powerful military has voiced support for CPC’s controversial proposal to end the two-term limit on the presidency. The planned constitutional revisions including removing the phrase about term limits for the president and vice-president “are in line with the major theoretical views and key policies made during the Communist Party s 19th congress… and reflect the new achievements, experience and demands of the party and the country’s development , the PLA Daily said in a front-page report yesterday.

The plenary meeting heard and discussed a work report delivered by Xi and adopted a list of proposed candidates for state leadership, Xinhua quoted the statement as saying. The new names for various posts including Central Bank Governor, State Councillor and Foreign Minister would be announced after their approval by the NPC.

The third Plenum of the CPC’s 19th Central Committee was attended by 202 CPC Central Committee members and 171 alternate members of the CPC Central Committee. Deputy secretaries of the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and senior officials of relevant departments were also present at the meeting.