Xi Jinping - Knowing the man : Once asked to denounce his parents

Xi Jinping - Knowing the man : Once asked to denounce his parents 

New Delhi 

Chinese President Xi Jinping has started his historic third term on Friday after he was unanimously 'elected' to the top post at the ongoing session of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC). 

In 2012, Jean-Pierre Cabestan, a Hong Kong-based scholar had written: "Xi is taking charge of the country at a particularly delicate time. China is having to adopt an alternative growth model whilst the government is struggling with powerful economic and regional feudalities". 

The election or appointment as the head of state is a ceremonial show and is clear testimony to Xi’s iron grip on power.

"In a carefully choreographed ceremony in Beijing, Xi held up his right fist and placed his left hand on a red leather copy of China’s constitution. In the oath – beamed live on state television across China – Xi, 69, vowed to “build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilised, harmonious and great modern socialist country”.

He was also elected as chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), reports Xinhua news agency.

In a stage-managed show, 3,000 members of the NPC voted at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing for Xi 

to be President wherein there was no other candidate.

He is the first leader in recent times to head the government for he third term. Since Mao Zedong, leaders in China have been limited to two terms only. 

"Xi’s reelection is the culmination of a remarkable rise from a relatively little-known party apparatchik to the leader of a global superpower," says 'The Guardian' newspaper. 

Blogger in front of Great Wall of China !

Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University Singapore, has stated to international media that: "In a sense, Xi is betting that centralisation under the party with him at the helm is a solution to these disparate issues".

Xi Jinping himself comes from a political background. His father Xi Zhongshun was a close associate 
of Chinese military commander Liu Zhidan. In 1962, Senior Xi was thrown into prison and his wife (Xi Jinping's mom) 
too was banished to a labour camp. Xi Jinping, like many youngsters of his time, was asked to "denounce" 
his parents by those promoted to positions of responsibility.
Changes to the Chinese leadership take place every five years and usually closely mirror the 
reshuffle announced at the party congress.
The beginning of China’s new political term also saw the former vice-premier Han Zheng elected as 
vice-president, and Zhao Leji, the former chief of the party’s top anti-corruption commission, as 
parliamentary chair. Both are members of China’s highest political decision-making body, the 
politburo standing committee.
Experts say Xi has made it clear that he considers reunification with Taiwan a priority for his legacy, 
and has not ruled out the use of force. Last month William Burns, the head of the CIA, said he knew 
“as a matter of intelligence” that Xi had ordered the army to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027.

As quoted by Nikkei Asia, Mary Gallagher, a political science professor at the University of Michigan, said: 
“Xi Jinping is centralising power to the centre while also strengthening the Chinese Communist Party at the expense 
of the state". 

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