Xi Jinping tightens grip as China’s leader for life

Xi Jinping will remain Chinese President indefinitely after becoming the most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.

Chinese President Xi Jinping votes at the National People’s Congress in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People last night. Picture: AFP

Xi Jinping will remain Chinese President indefinitely after 99.8 per cent of delegates to the National People’s Congress voted last night to make him the most powerful ruler since Mao Zedong.

They also backed adding his doctrine, “Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era”, to the constitution.

Of the 2963 who voted, two unknown delegates opposed the moves, while three abstained.

The vote was a ballot on his absolute authority, which nothing and no one in China can challenge — especially since he launched his campaign against disloyalty in the form of an anti-corruption drive. All key rivals and competing factions have been disabled.

Zhao Guoxiang, a delegate from Henan province, told The Australian: “I support the proposal to prolong the term of the President. We understand it is for the sake of policy consistency, and the economy had been developing well under the current leadership.”

Three delegates said they had not learned of the plans for the historic move towards an all-powerful leader until they arrived in Beijing for the congress a week ago. This prevented discussion with colleagues in their provinces and thus reduced the slim chance of delegates raising awkward questions.

Riot police with shields and prods fanned out among puzzled groups of Chinese tourists near Tiananmen Square — which was closed off for yesterday’s NPC session — indicating anxiety about potential opposition.

Mr Xi, 64, led the voting in the Great Hall of the People, placing his ballot first in the red box centre stage. The applause when results were read out was polite rather than fervent, perhaps reflecting puzzlement about why the constitutional change was introduced so rapidly.

Yesterday’s amendments to the constitution — which was drawn up in 1982 after Mao’s death concluded the chaotic Cultural Revolution decade — were the first to be agreed since 2004. Such changes require a two-thirds majority. This is the 14th NPC, and since the first in 1954, not a single measure placed before the delegates for their approval has been rejected.

Outgoing NPC chairman Zhang Dejiang said in a long speech following the vote, in which he constantly praised Mr Xi as “the core” of the party, that “China is a socialist country with a people’s democratic dictatorship”.

It now has a form of dictator, who has emerged through China’s form of democracy.

NPC secretary-general Wang Chen said the authorities had decided to scrap the term limit in response to the overwhelming demand from China’s laobaixing, the ordinary people. “During consultations and surveys at the grassroots level, many regions, departments and members of the party and the public have unanimously called for the rules on presidential term limits in the constitution to be revised,” he said.

Almost 75 per cent of this group of NPC delegates — selected for a five-year term — are new to the parliament, and might be viewed as having been chosen particularly for their loyalty to Mr Xi.

Public debate on the constitutional changes has been closed down, both online and offline, until after the annual NPC session ends on March 20.

A further measure is the establishment of the National Supervisory Commission, which will be granted similar investigatory and detention powers to the much-feared Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, but extending from party members to all government officials. It will open branches everywhere and operate outside the judicial system.