It’s official: China’s President Xi can Remain President for Life. The Chinese parliament has agreed to a change in the law that will allow Xi Jinping to remain president until his death. Only two out of nearly 3,000 MEPs voted against.
Another three people abstained from voting. Now it is still the case in China that a president may stay for a maximum of two terms of five years. In October Xi Jinping started his second term.
The Communist Party proposed last month to change that law. Because the People’s Congress consists only of party members who are very loyal, there was little doubt as to whether the amendment of the law would be adopted.
The government of China says that the amendment of the law is only intended to protect the authority of the Communist Party, with Xi at the center. The amendment of the law would not mean that presidents will stay on for life.
Yet there are many opponents of the amendment of the law. Thus social parallels are drawn with North Korea, or it is suggested that a ‘Mao Zedong-like’ situation arises. Mao Zedong was the leader of China for decades and led the country in a dictatorial manner, resulting in an estimated tens of millions of deaths.
