China to amend its Constitution for the fifth time

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China is set to amend the country’s Constitution for the first time in 14 years – and the fifth time ever since 1982 – when the country’s top legislature, the National People's Congress (NPC), convenes for its annual session that starts on March 5.

At the first meeting of the first session of the 13th NPC, deputies will hear an explanation on the draft amendments, said Zhang Yesui, spokesperson for this year's NPC, during a press conference on Sunday in Beijing.

"The Constitution, which reflects the common will of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people, is China's fundamental law and the general chapter for governing the country well and ensuring national security," said Zhang.

Zhang Yesui, spokesperson for the first session of the 13th NPC, speaks during a press conference in Beijing, March, 4, 2018. /Photo China.com.cn

Deputies will vote on the proposal on March 11 to put the amendments into effect, Zhang said, adding that a special press conference will be held after the vote to explain the amendments.

Twenty-one items will be amended, including writing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and adding a sentence stressing the Party’s leadership to the Constitution, according to the proposal made public by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on February 25.

Furthermore, the proposal suggested listing a supervisory commission as a new state organ, as well as removing the expression that the president and vice president of China "shall serve no more than two consecutive terms."

While addressing questions from a foreign reporter on these changes, Zhang explained that the term limits are not applied to the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee as well as the chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission in the Party's Constitution.

There are also no set term limits in China's Constitution for the chairman of the Central Military Commission of the country, added Zhang.

Zhang stressed that the revision will be conducive to strengthening and improving the national leadership system.

He reiterated that the change to the Constitution is also conducive to the strong and unified CPC Central Committee's leadership with Xi at the core.

Amending the Constitution for the fifth time

CGTN Photo

During its second plenum on Jan. 19, the CPC Central Committee deliberated and adopted the draft proposal on amendments, raising it to the Standing Committee of the NPC afterwards.

The Standing Committee of the 12th NPC, at the end of January, adopted the motion to revise the Constitution proposed by the CPC Central Committee via a vote and decided to submit it to the annual NPC session for deliberation.

Amendments will be adopted with the approval of a more than two-thirds majority of all the deputies to the Congress.

The history of China's Constitution

Two days before the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the first plenary session of the first Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) adopted the Common Program of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, which served as a temporary constitution for the country.

CGTN Photo

After the people’s congress system was established through elections in September 1954, the first NPC adopted the country's first Constitution.

The second and the third Constitution were adopted in 1975 and 1978, respectively. However, they were not in line with China’s situation and, later, progress.

The existing Constitution was adopted in 1982 during the first session of the fifth NPC. It then underwent four amendments in 1988, 1993, 1999 and 2004.

Read more: History of amendments to China's Constitution