Dhe Chinese Communist Party Congress has anchored the ideology and leadership role of head of state and party leader Xi Jinping even more firmly in the party constitution. Around 2,300 delegates accepted the amendments at the end of the week-long party conference on Saturday in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
The decision said that with Xi Jinping as the “core of the Central Committee” and through his theories, the party was able to overcome the country’s contradictions and problems. The Party and China are facing a complex situation and severe challenges unparalleled in the world.
Congress also resolved to strengthen the military and build it into “world-class armed forces.” The independence forces in Taiwan should also be fought decisively, it said. The Chinese leadership regards the democratic island republic as part of the People’s Republic and threatens to conquer it. Taiwan, on the other hand, has long considered itself independent.
During Saturday, the congress should elect the party’s Central Committee, which will appoint the Politburo’s Standing Committee on Sunday. Xi is expected to receive a third five-year term as CCP general secretary. This would strengthen the 69-year-old’s position as the most powerful head of state since Mao Tse-tung.
Led out of the room against his will
An incident involving former party leader Hu Jintao broke out during the congress on Saturday. The 79-year-old was led off the podium by two room stewards, apparently against his will, next to head of state and party leader Xi Jinping, as can be seen on video recordings. During the closing session, international cameramen and journalists had just been let into the grandstand in the Great Hall of the People.
The frail-looking Hu Jintao is not necessarily seen as a supporter of the current party leader. He belongs to the Communist Youth League camp in the party, which was weakened by Xi Jinping.
The former president handed over the post of secretary-general to Xi Jinping in 2012 after two terms. Hu Jintao represents the old “collective” leadership model with representatives from different factions and with age and term limits, which the 69-year-old Xi Jinping wants to overturn with his third term.
