Former Editor Speaks Out

Li Datong felt he had to speak out about abolishing term limits

The other day I blogged about the Chinese Communist Party proposing to abolish the two-term limit for presidents and vice presidents, effectively meaning President Xi Jinping's term in office could be for as long as he lives.

Many people took to social media to voice their opinion -- posting the picture of Disney's Winnie the Pooh hugging a massive pot of honey with the tagline, "Find the thing you love and stick with it" along with other subtle hints of disapproval.

This image of Winnie the Pooh referring to Xi was censored

However those images were quickly censored, along with a Durex condom tagline, "Two rounds just aren't enough" (干两次，是不够的 gàn liǎng cì, shì bùgòu de).

But one person was willing to stick his neck out. Li Datong (李大同), the former managing editor of Freezing Point, a respected magazine that was part of China Youth Daily newspaper, wrote an open letter voicing his concerns.

A translation of it can be found at China Media Project.

In it he said scrapping the term limits was one of Deng Xiaoping's greatest legacies, following the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution.

"China can only move forward on this foundation, and there is emphatically no reason to move in the reverse direction. Removing term limits on national leaders will subject us to the ridicule of the civilized nations of the world," writes Li.

"It means moving backward into history, and planting the seed once again of chaos in China, causing untold damage."

Xi seems intent on amassing as much power as possible

He implores delegates of the National People's Congress to exercise their right to vote and go against the Party's decision to amend Article 14 of the constitution to abolish term limits for the president.

After he published the letter, there were efforts made to censor it too, but people took screenshots of it and posted it upside down.

In an interview with the BBC, Li said he was too old to be worried about the authorities.

"As a Chinese citizen, I have to fulfil my responsibility and tell the delegates my opinion. I don't care what these delegates will do. It's not like the whole country agrees with the amendment, but everyone has been silenced," he said.

"I couldn't bear it anymore. I was discussing with my friends and we were enraged. We have to voice our opposition.

"In theory, NPC delegates from Beijing have to represent the several million voters in the capital. I am a voter and I write a letter to the delegates representing me. I express my opinion on the amendments. It's very safe legally.

"Even if the amendment is passed, it doesn't matter. History is often like this -- we make two steps forward and one step back. But this is against the tide of civilization and won't stand the test of time. It will be considered a farce in Chinese history in the future."

It was brave of Li to speak out -- he felt he had no choice but to voice his opinion on something he felt so strongly to be wrong. Will we hear from him again? Or will he be effectively silenced from now on?

We shall see next week what happens, but it is expected the amendment will pass with a clear majority. Who dares to go against Xi's wishes?

Xi President for Life

The Communist Party is changing the rules for Xi Jinping to rule for life

The big news today -- there have been rumblings about it for a while -- the Chinese Communist Party is going to abolish its two-term limit for the presidency to allow Xi Jinping, 64, to effectively rule for life, making it the biggest political change in decades.

Previous leaders typically had two five-year terms, but Xi's ability to consolidate so much power since his ascent in 2012 puts him in the ranks of "paramount leader" Deng Xiaoping and the "Great Helmsman" Mao Zedong. 

"Xi Jinping thought" will also be added into the constitution, making any challenge against him a threat to Communist Party rule.

Wang Qishan may replace Li Keqiang as Premier

Originally the two-term limit was meant to prevent the cultivation of cult of personality like what happened with Mao.

But with no heir apparent in sight, or perhaps Xi isn't interested in cultivating one, it seems the authoritarian Xi is keen to continue his grip on power for a while yet. And why not with his signature project Belt and Road still underway, perhaps he wants to see it through.

Sinologists have also been discussing the possibility of Wang Qishan, Xi's right hand man in the anti-corruption campaign, to become his next Premier, replacing Li Keqiang, who has been really quiet for a few years. Maybe he and Xi didn't see eye-to-eye.

With Xi amassing so much power, one really doesn't want to mess with him.

Social media post of Winnie the Pooh making the rounds

As China expert Willy Lam, adjunct professor at Chinese University of Hong Kong and in 2015 wrote a biography about Xi, notes, the Chinese leader needs to be careful with his even greater power.

"Xi Jinping is susceptible to making big mistakes because there are now almost no checks or balances. Essentially, he has become emperor for life."

Meanwhile on social media in China, there's an image of Winnie the Pooh (in a Disney cartoon reference to Xi), hugging a big honey pot.

It says: "Find the thing you love and stick with it."

Makes sense, no?