Chinese President Xi Jinping, front row second from left, and Premier Li Keqiang, second from right, proceed to cast their votes for an amendment to China's constitution that will abolish term limits on the presidency and enable Xi to rule indefinitely, during a plenary session of the National People's Congress at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Sunday, March 11, 2018. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Republished March 11, 2018 - 6:03 PM
Original Publication Date March 11, 2018 - 12:06 AM
BEIJING - The Latest on China's lawmakers amending constitution to abolish term limits (all times local):
3:55 p.m.
China's rubber-stamp lawmakers have passed a historic constitutional amendment that abolishes term limits and will enable President Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely.
The National People's Congress' nearly 3,000 hand-picked delegates endorsed the constitutional amendment Sunday, voting 2,958 in favour with two opposed, three abstaining and one vote invalidated.
The amendment upends a system enacted by former Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping in 1982 to prevent a return to the bloody excesses of a lifelong dictatorship typified by Mao Zedong's chaotic 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution.
The slide toward one-man rule under Xi has fueled concern that Beijing is eroding efforts to guard against the excesses of autocratic leadership and make economic regulation more stable and predictable.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018