China's governing Communist Party has proposed removing a clause in the constitution which limits presidencies to two five-year terms.Past 2043 is more like it.
The move would allow the current President Xi Jinping to remain as leader after he is due to step down.
There had been widespread speculation that Mr. Xi would seek to extend his presidency beyond 2023.
This bodes well, in the long run, for those nations antagonistic to China. Cults of personality tend to lead to stagnation and risk-aversion. Making bold decisions are terribly risky things to do when the Big Daddy may not agree, or may use you as a scapegoat if the project doesn't pan out.
Good news for the U.S., India, Japan, Korea, the Philippines and Australia. The Chinese placed the limit as a response to the excesses of the Gang of Four era. While they haven’t forgotten, it s now far enough in the past and they haven’t learned enough from that to develop a form of government that will avoid a repeat with a stagnant leadership.
ReplyDelete