Turbulence in Chinese Political Administration

Why in news?

The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party has announced an amendment to its constitution.

What are proposed amendments in Chinese constitution?

• The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party has proposed removing a clause from the country’s constitution added during the Deng Xiaoping era.
• Which limits both the presidency and vice presidency to two five-year terms.
• Undoing this restriction essentially lines Present President Xi up to be “President for Life.”
• Another proposed change would enshrine “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era” in the constitution’s preamble, following Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, and Deng Xiaoping Theory.

What are present political conditions in china?

• These proposed constitutional revisions are the latest and most historically consequential power grab by the self-assured Chinese president.
• Xi has seized upon his moment of accrued political capital to cement his hold over the country for as long as he desires.
• The revisions also reflect push for a greater emphasis on what he calls “law-based governance”.
• The Chinese President Xi Jinping vanquished all his political rivals in China and he pointedly did not nominate a successor at the Communist Party Congress.

What is China’s reactions for this move?

• The two-term ceiling was introduced in 1982 by visionary leader Deng Xiaoping to prevent a repeat of the social and institutional destruction by Mao Zedong that culminated in the Cultural Revolution.
• The recent amendment move was welcomed by Chinese Military administration.
• Political Sceptics are also pointing that “absolute power corrupts absolutely,” something that could undercut China’s stability.
• But Chinese administration denied it by declaring that the amendment “does not mean a life-long term system”.

What are the global concerns with China’s move?

• The amendment potentially clears the way for Xi to be China’s President for indefinite period.
• It also leaves the world facing a hard-line ruler who intends China to be the preeminent global power.
• China under Xi has also been aggressively challenging India’s role as the pre-eminent power in the Indian Ocean region.
• China’s growing ties with Pakistan Mandarin has now been made an official language in Pakistan is also a cause for concern.

Source: Business Line, The Diplomat