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President Xi Jinping is seen off by Chief Executive Carrie Lam after he visited Hong Kong to mark the 20th anniversary of its return to Chinese sovereignty and to swear her in as the new leader of the special administrative region, on July 1, 2017. Photo: Xinhua
OpinionLetters

Why Hong Kong should give Xi Jinping time to realise his ‘modern socialist’ mission and ‘new era’ vision

Xi Jinping
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During his first five-year term (2012-2017) as the country’s president, and as general secretary of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping galvanised the top leadership to tackle corruption, not only within the party but also in the People’s Liberation Army, and in the private sector as well. 

Xi has attended many international conferences to spread the word on China’s working style of “reform and opening up”, and to confer with political, financial and global dignitaries. 

During his first term as president, China strengthened its position as the world’s second-largest economy. 

On October 18 last year, at the 19th party congress in Beijing, Xi announced that China had entered a “new era”, with the Communist Party at its helm, that would transform China by 2050 into a modern socialist state with Chinese characteristics: prosperous, strong, democratic, and culturally advanced. 

What a new era with Xi Jinping’s ‘dream team’ means for Hong Kong

And on March 11, the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing amended the national constitution to include the “Xi Jinping thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics”.

A second amendment to the constitution was a statement that the party leadership was the defining feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics. 

One amendment that aroused much speculation among China analysts was the elimination of any term limit for the national president and vice-president. 

China ends presidential term limits, but what other changes were made to the constitution?

Since Xi is only in the first year of his second five-year term as China’s president, my view is that we in Hong Kong should be pragmatic enough to give him and the leadership more time to consolidate socialist modernisation by 2035 and the vision of a “new era” by 2050.

Under “one country, two systems”, Hong Kong has performed remarkably well with the mainland’s socialist system, which has enabled the country to reach its current level of economic and social growth.

Hong Kong can gain from Xi Jinping’s vision of national rejuvenation

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor and the business delegation that she led to Indonesia last month are to be congratulated on their efforts to boost trade ties with the nation of over 250 million, and to further strengthen ties within the region through the recently signed free-trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. 

Hilton Cheong-Leen, president, Hong Kong Civic Association

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: We must give Xi Jinping time to realise his ‘modern socialist’ mission and ‘new era’ vision
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