Chinese intellectuals alarmed at plan to extend Xi's two-term limit: report

The prospect of Xi Jinping remaining in power even after his second term, which ends in 2023, has further alarmed Chinese intellectuals who are already concerned about the "massive" propaganda campaign building a "personality cult" around the Chinese President, a media report said today.
Ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) recently has proposed to remove the two-term limit for President and Vice President, ending the decades old era of collective leadership.
The proposal is expected to be ratified by the National Peoples Congress (NPC). The NPC begins its annual session on Monday.
The 64-year-old Xi, who is also head of the CPC and military, began his second five-year term in October last year after a key CPC Congress ratified his second term.

His second term as President begins later this month.
As speculation about the continuation of Xi, regarded as the most powerful Chinese leader in recent decades, is rife, Wang Xiangwei, former journalist of the state-run China Daily and ex-Chief Editor of the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, said if everything goes well chances were that Xi could continue till 2032 until he attains the age of 82.

As China is in the painful process of transforming its economy, there are plenty of chances for things to go terribly wrong, he said.
"Inevitably, Sundays announcement has further alarmed the country's intellectuals who are already worried about the massive propaganda campaign that has been building a personality cult around Xi over the past few years," he wrote in an article in the Morning Post today.

He is the second Chinese journalist to have raised concerns over the move.
Earlier, Li Datong, a former editor at the state-run China Youth Daily posted a draft letter urging Chinese legislators to vote against the move, saying it would take the country back to the era of CPC founder Mao Zedong.
"It (the term restriction) was the highest and most effective legal restriction meant to prevent autocracy or putting individuals above the party and the state," he said in his letter on the popular social media app Wechat.
It was quickly blocked by official censors.
In his article Wang said despite the authorities vigilance in removing from the internet and social media platforms any criticisms of the proposed constitutional amendment, many people still find ways to make their views known.

Some have dug out earlier warnings by Deng Xiaoping and Jiang Zemin about the dangers of lifetime appointments and of predicating the stability of the country and party on the authority of one or two individuals, he said.
Others have pointed to the example of Russian President Vladimir Putin and warned Chinese leaders about the consequences of Putins nearly 20-year reign of Russia, he said.
In his article, Wang said since 1949 Mao Zedong remained the undisputed leader of China until his death in 1976, giving him a reign of 27 years.
His successor Deng who became Chinas paramount leader in 1979 maintained his influence as the spiritual leader until his death in 1997, for a total of 18 years, Wang wrote.

Dengs successor Jiang ruled for 12 years, including two years as head of the military while Hu Jintao who took over power after his retirement held two-five year terms, he said.
Xi came to power in 2012. If the 15 or 20-year theory applies, Xi could effectively rule China until 2027 or 2032, which is much closer to the 2035 target for China to become a modern country, he said.
Xi will be 82 by 2035. By comparison, Deng was 85 when he fully retired in early 1990, Wang said.
"Of course, it is entirely possible that Xi could follow Maos example to rule until his death but given the hard lessons China has learned from Maos era, this scenario is unlikely," he said.Xis key message has been that as the party tightens control over all aspects of society, it will do whatever it can to fulfil the Chinese peoples aspirations for a better life in exchange for the legitimacy to maintain authoritarian rule at home, Wang wrote.

Of course, dangers lurk ahead for Xi, not the least because if he centralises too much power in his own hands his subordinates may no longer dare to inform him of uncomfortable truths, which could lead to lopsided judgements and policy blunders," he warned.
"Another worry is that as he takes the credit for all progress, he will likewise have to take blame for everything that goes wrong, which could put excessive pressure on policymaking," he said.
Xi was elected as the head of the Party and President in 2013 and later took over as head of the military.
In 2016, the CPC officially gave him the title of "core" leader.

The once-in-five-years Congress of the CPC last year approved Xi's ideology to be written into its Constitution - an honour that had been reserved only to modern China's founder Chairman Mao Zedong and his successor Deng.
The thoughts of two of Xi's predecessors, Jiang and Hu, were mentioned in the Constitution but not their names.
Any attempt to challenge Xi or his thinking would be seen as defiance against the party.