https://www.scmp.com/rss/326601/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Chinese President Xi Jinping can now stay in power indefinitely, after lawmakers nearly unanimously approved changes to the constitution.  Over the weekend, they agreed to remove term limits for the positions of president and vice-president. Xi, currently heading into his second five-year term as president, is now China's most powerful leader in decades. ​ What does his leadership mean for China and the world? Inkstone has invited Willy Lam, a veteran China watcher at the Chinese University of... https://www.scmp.com/politics/what-emperor-xi-means-china-and-world/article/2136833?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/politics/what-emperor-xi-means-china-and-world/article/2136833?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Mar 2018 09:30:30 +0000 Chinese state media on Monday attacked critics of ending presidential term limits, which effectively allows President Xi Jinping to stay in office indefinitely, saying the key to the country’s path was following the Communist Party. China’s largely ceremonial parliament on Sunday overwhelmingly voted to amend the constitution, scrapping the term restrictions and adding clauses to strengthen the party’s already dominating role in politics. In the run-up to the vote, critics on Chinese social... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2136788/chinas-state-media-defend-changes-constitution-removing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2136788/chinas-state-media-defend-changes-constitution-removing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 12 Mar 2018 03:49:27 +0000 Beijing does not intend to export its governance model or ask other countries to follow its lead, a government official told media on Sunday, hours after US President Donald Trump praised Xi Jinping over a move to scrap the presidential term limit. While the Communist Party’s proposal to remove the limit of two five-year terms – meaning Xi could stay in power indefinitely – has sparked criticism and fears of a return to strongman politics, Trump said he was fine with the idea. He even suggested... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2135590/donald-trump-praises-china-president-xi-extending?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2135590/donald-trump-praises-china-president-xi-extending?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 04 Mar 2018 02:00:45 +0000 Xi Jinping’s push to repeal the term limits of the presidency, a largely nominal office, could be driven in part by his global ambitions and desire to institutionalise the Communist Party as the state, analysts said.  While Xi’s intention to stay in power beyond two five-year terms was no surprise to many China watchers, Beijing’s announcement on Sunday of a planned amendment to the two-term clause in the constitution so early in his second term did catch many off guard. They said the... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2134811/ending-presidential-term-limits-xi-thinking-global-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/policies-politics/article/2134811/ending-presidential-term-limits-xi-thinking-global-and?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Feb 2018 22:30:22 +0000 The proposed elimination of presidential term limits in China risks an international backlash over China’s strongman politics, but would help ensure the continuity of the country’s policies, diplomatic observers said. The bold move would send a message that Xi and his initiatives were here to stay and cement China’s ambition to fill the global leadership vacuum left by US President Donald Trump, they said. But observers also stressed that the next few years could be volatile for China and... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2134791/end-term-limits-top-may-be-start-global-backlash-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy-defence/article/2134791/end-term-limits-top-may-be-start-global-backlash-china?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Feb 2018 14:45:00 +0000