Xi Jinping can now be President for life: China's parliament removes limits
In a historic decision, China on Sunday removed the two-term limit on presidency, clearing the decks for the all-powerful President Xi Jinping to rule the world's most populous country for life. Scrapping the 35-year old rule brought by "paramount" leader Deng Xiaoping to prevent the country from returning to one-man rule like that of Mao Zedong, China's largely ceremonial parliament amended the Constitution by lifting the two-term limit. With term limits gone, Xi can rule China until he retires, dies or is ousted. President Xi Jinping (image: online media) He is already dubbed as the country's next Mao, founder of modern China who ruled from 1949 until his death in 1976. Of the 2,963 deputies (lawmakers) of the Chinese parliament, three abstained and two voted against the proposal to amend the Constitution. China watchers say the country, which has a one-party rule, could well be headed for a single-man rule. Xi, who succeeded Hu Jintao in 2012 a