Xi Jinping must stay on as China’s president during this critical time, as Roosevelt did for the US
Whether power corrupts is not a matter of checks and balances alone, as those who check each other can be mutually corrupt. It is up to everyone’s own judgment whether Xi has passed the moral test. Xi is a known quantity, as he has a long record of public service and a first term as president to be scrutinised. It is ironic that critics of Xi all refer to Deng Xiaoping’s institutional reform, without noting that Deng’s legitimacy came not only from his economic policies but also from his charismatic leadership, which was exactly what his institutional reform was meant to curb.
In ending presidential term limits, ‘Xi Jinping is thinking global and acting local’
Whether power corrupts is not a matter of checks and balances alone
Comparatively, a prime minister in a Western parliamentary system has no term limit either. The Japanese prime minister has also extended his party leadership, and thus his prime minister title, to three terms. Even in a highly institutionalised system like the US’, Franklin D. Roosevelt was elected president four times because the American people wanted continuity during a critical period. China is currently going through the same. Specific leadership makes a difference.
Michael Ng-Quinn, professor of political science, University of Redlands, California