Modern China Episode 2: Xi Jinping: China's New Emperor?

In March 2018, at a meeting of the 2,980 delegates of the National People’s Congress, a vote was passed to abolish the two-term limit on the Presidency and Vice-Presidency of the People’s Republic of China. The ten year limit, which has been in place for almost 30 years, was initially put in place by Deng Xiaoping ostensibly to prevent the building up of a cult of personality that heavily contributed to the tragedies perpetrated under Mao Zedong’s leadership. While the title of President of China has been considered largely ceremonial in the past, and some politicians such as Deng Xiaoping have managed to hold power without such a title, this change to the constitution has been understood to be monumental across the board.

While this change could well be considered a ‘step backwards’ for China’s politics and governance, I don’t think it should be considered so unexpected or even so drastic a move. It could even be considered a return to tradition. In this video I want to look at the following questions: What exactly gave rise to this motion, and why, with only the smallest of resistance, was it passed? How big of a role does Xi’s cult of personality play? And Is Xi really the new emperor of China? To answer these questions, we first need to understand how China has been ruled in the past, and how this pattern of governance has influenced present day China. Let’s put the decision to end Presidential term limits in China in its historical context.

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