China: President Xi has declared the start of a new era
New post
China: President Xi has declared the start of a new era
Image:President Xi Jinping after casting his ballot
Inside the Great Hall of the People, the delegates lined up enthusiastically to pose for photographs, but they were less keen to talk about the vote they were about to cast.
Successive dark-suited officials waved me away, or affected not to hear my question.
For a move we're told reflects the "unanimous" desire of the party and the masses, it proved surprisingly difficult to find anyone prepared to discuss it with me.
But then this was never a forum for debate.
China's National People's Congress is often described as a parliament, but in practice its function is to approve the proposals the Communist Party sends it, not to challenge them - it has yet to vote down a single one.
They went through the motions anyway.
The ballot boxes were examined, the papers handed out, the delegates given identical pencils to protect their anonymity, but the result was never in doubt.
As a jaunty melody played, Xi Jinping led the way to the front of the stage to vote, effectively, for himself - to remove any legal limit to his tenure, and the only constitutional bar to him remaining in power here for life.
Image:President Xi applauds after the parliament passed a constitutional amendment lifting presidential term limit
There was applause, perhaps a faint smile of acknowledgement, and then Xi returned to his seat, for the most part expressionless, as he watched the assembled thousands of delegates make their way to the ballot box to follow suit.
To the surprise of absolutely no-one, the vote was carried: 2,958 for, two against, and three abstained.
It took a little over 10 minutes to erase decades of progress towards collective leadership and institutionalised succession, and put China back on the path to one-man rule.
There is opposition to this amendment, but you won't hear it inside this hall - and outside dissenting voices are being silenced, criticism scrubbed from the internet, with censors deleting banned terms like "Emperor Xi", "I Disagree," and "Xi Zedong".
There was good reason behind the term limit.
It was added to the constitution in 1982 as part of a series of measures following the death of Mao Zedong, intended to guard against too much power being concentrated in the hands of one man here again.
Video:New rules mean China's Xi Jinping could rule for lilfe
Xi Jinping's own family had personally experienced the consequences, suffering badly during Mao's 'Cultural Revolution', the last in a series of disastrous campaigns.
His father was beaten, humiliated, and denounced as a traitor to the party by young red guards, while his sister is said to have been "persecuted to death". Xi himself was banished to the countryside to labour on the land and learn from the peasants.
But now he is publicly dismantling the safeguards that were meant to prevent the rise of another Mao.
New post Stormy Daniels seeks Trump testimony on her sex claims 25 minutes ago Share this with Facebook Share this with Twitter Share Media caption Stormy Daniels: 'I was threatened' Adult-film star Stormy Daniels has filed a court motion for US President Donald Trump to testify about her claim that they had a relationship. Her lawyer wants sworn testimony from Mr Trump about a "hush" agreement the actress says she signed. The attorney, Michael Avenatti, is also seeking a legal interview with the president's lawyer. Ms Daniels alleges she had unprotected sex with Mr Trump in 2006 a year after he married Melania Trump. He denies it. Mr Avenatti's motion, filed in a court in the Central District of California early on Wednesday, ramps up the legal duel between the porn star and the president. Should Trump be worried about Stormy Daniels? The president and the porn star: Why this matters Ex-model ...
Menemen (Turkish Scrambled Eggs With Tomato) Time :25 minutes Menemen, made from eggs, tomatoes, peppers and sometimes onions, is a distinctly Turkish breakfast comfort food. Although a year-round dish, it is especially pleasing in the summer, with really ripe tomatoes from the garden or farmer’s market. Be creative with this dish: Add shallots, chiles, fresh herbs or Aleppo pepper, or treat it as purists do, with only tomatoes and eggs. Cook slowly, stirring infrequently, until the eggs form billowy puffs. You can serve topped with feta cheese or lamb sausage, with any warm flatbread on the side. INGREDIENTS Yield : 4 servings 4tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 1medium white onion (about 10 ounces), peeled and diced ½teaspoon dried oregano, plus more as needed ¼teaspoon Aleppo pepper, plus more as needed Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1mild but flavorful long green pepper (such as Turkish carliston, Hungarian banana or Anaheim), stemmed, halved lengthwise, seeded, ...
Drinking water is essential for life, but many rural towns in the U.S. are struggling to provide safe and reliable water to their residents. For decades, these towns have neglected their drinking water systems, resulting in aging infrastructure, water quality violations, and financial challenges. In this blog post, we will explore some of the causes and consequences of this crisis, and what can be done to address it. Causes of the Crisis One of the main causes of the crisis is the shrinking population of many rural towns. As people move to urban areas or other states, the tax base and the customer base of the water systems decline. This means less revenue to cover the costs of operation, maintenance, and improvement of the water systems. According to a report by the American Bar Association³, in 2015, 9 percent of all water systems had a documented violation of water quality standards, exposing 21 million people to unhealthy drinking water. These violations were more likely to occur in...
Pizza at home shouldn't be a scary errand. With a little assistance from the wizardry of self-rising flour this batter meets up rapidly, with only one extra fixing. Prepare the mixture in minutes, and afterward embrace your inventiveness with garnishes. A Mediterranean pie, a meat-darling's enjoyment, or even a taco pizza to fulfill two desires without a moment's delay, are only a couple of thoughts to begin. The choices are interminable and outfitted with this mixture, you can get imaginative (and supper on the table) right away. This formula yields sufficient mixture for two 10-inch round pizzas. INGREDIENTS 2 cups self-rising flour 1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt Preparation Step 1 Gather ingredients. Step 2 Mix together the flour and yogurt in a large bowl with a fork until a dough forms. At first, the dough may appear dry but continue to mix until a shaggy dough comes together. Step 3 Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead the do...
Comments
Post a Comment
comments below