Mr Xi said “achieving total unity” was the “collective hope of all Chinese people” and any attempts to divide it were “doomed to fail”.

The speech was a strong warning against any attempt at separatism from places like Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Mr Xi also warned China could not be complacent about its development.

Meanwhile, Premier Li Keqiang used his once-a-year news conference to say China was committed to global co-operation on trade.

He said China would further open up its economy and “ensure that both domestic and foreign firms” were “able to compete on fair terms in China’s large market”.

The premier’s comments are a marked contrast to the recent protectionist rhetoric and threats of tariffs from the Trump administration in the US.

‘Punished by history’

Xi Jinping became president in 2013 and now looks likely to lead China indefinitely, after the National People’s Congress (NPC) – a rubber-stamp parliamentary session that meets once a year – voted to remove a two-term limit on the presidency from the constitution.

He is now considered the most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong, and has further cemented his position by moving many of his key allies in to leadership roles during the NPC.

In his speech in the Great Hall of the People, Mr Xi highlighted major achievements of Chinese history like the invention of gunpowder and the writings of Confucius.

He laid out his own grand vision for China, saying history had proven that “only socialism can save China”.

Chinese people, he said, “have the spirit of fighting the bloody battle against our enemies to the bitter end”.

Pointing at China’s global ambitions, he said his country would be strong but not aggressive and would not develop itself at the expense of the rest of the world.

But he warned that China had to be united to prosper, and it was “absolutely impossible to separate any inch of our great country’s territory from China”.

“All acts and tricks to separate the country are doomed to fail and will be condemned by the people and punished by history.”

The comments were a clear warning to places like Taiwan, which is self-ruling but considered by Beijing to be a a rebel region that must be reunited with the mainland – by force if necessary.

The issue remains a major potential flashpoint. Last week US President Donald Trump angered Beijing by singing a new law which encourages the sending of top officials to Taiwan to meet their counterparts there, and vice-versa.

There have also been vocal calls for greater autonomy or even independence for Hong Kong in recent years – including massive street protests – and China says it is fighting an Islamist separatist insurgency in Xinjiang province.

Dissenting voices or protests are not tolerated at the NPC, which brings together 3,000 delegates who are theoretically elected but in reality handpicked by the government.

Among other major changes this year, the NPC confirmed a major shake-up of ministries, introducing several new bodies overseeing areas like the environment, army veterans and culture.

Key positions including the central bank head and chief economic advisor were appointed, and the NPC ratified a law to set up a new powerful anti-corruption agency, far extending the reach of Mr Xi’s flagship campaign.

The anti-corruption drive has seen more than a million officials disciplined, but is seen by some observers as a tool to sideline his political rivals.

Though it was overwhelmingly backed by parliament, the decision to lift the presidential term limits has been criticised both abroad and within China.

In the run-up to the NPC, former state newspaper editor Li Datong wrote to lawmakers that scrapping term limits for the president and vice-president would sow the seeds of chaos.

“This is against the tide of civilisation and won’t stand the test of time,” he told BBC Chinese. “It will be considered a farce in Chinese history in the future.”

–

Source: BBC

The post Xi Jinping warns any attempt to split China is ‘doomed to fail’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Xi’s reappointment by the Communist Party-controlled legislature was a foregone conclusion, but all eyes had been on whether his former anti-corruption enforcer, Wang Qishan, would become his deputy.

The National People’s Congress has widely expanded Xi’s already considerable authority during its annual session, adding his name to the constitution and lifting the two five-year term limit for the presidency and vice presidency.

Xi received a standing ovation after winning all 2,970 votes for the presidency and Central Military Commission chairman. In 2013, Xi had received 2,952 votes, with one against and three abstentions, a 99.86 percent share.

Only one delegate voted against Wang’s appointment, with 2,969 in favour.

Xi and Wang shook hands as the legislators heaped on applause.

As part of the package of constitutional amendments, Xi and Wang for the first time took the oath of office by pledging allegiance to the constitution. Xi put his left hand on a red-covered book containing the charter, and raised his right fist to take his vow.

“I pledge loyalty to the constitution of the People’s Republic of China” Xi recited, vowing to “strenuously struggle to build a rich, strong, democratic and civilised” country.

Elevating Wang allows Xi to keep a formidable ally by his side, as China’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong cements his authority and sets his sights on a possible lifelong tenure — a move that has drawn criticism online.

Wang, 69, stepped down from the Communist Party’s ruling council in October under informal retirement rules.

But he has kept a prominent profile, sitting at the same table as the seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee during the public sessions of the National People’s Congress while receiving fervent applause from the delegates as he voted.

Wang’s appointment shows that “he’s a really important political advisor,” said Kerry Brown, director of the Lau China Institute at King’s College London.

“He’s a very capable politician, so it makes sense he would still be around,” Brown told AFP, noting that “it also shows we’re in an unconventional time in Chinese politics.”

Wang was at the frontline of Xi’s anti-corruption crusade, heading the party’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, which has punished 1.5 million officials in the past five years, from low-level cadres to regional leaders and generals. He stepped down last year.

Known internationally in his previous role as China’s pointman on trade, Wang could help Xi deal with increasingly tense relations with the United States amid fears of a looming trade war, analysts say.

– ‘Dream team’ –

Xi’s real power stems from his title as general secretary of the Communist Party, but analysts say Wang could provide extra heft to his presidency, even though the vice president has largely been a ceremonial post in the past.

Xi is keeping Wang by his side because of his “talent and ability,” according to Hua Po, an independent Chinese political commentator.

“Choosing Wang as vice president is certainly to consolidate his power,” Hua told AFP.

“Xi is already a very powerful man. The problem is that he has too few people who are loyal and competent for his use, so he has to retain Wang and give himself more time to cultivate more talented people.”

Wang replaces Li Yuanchao, a relatively low-profile politician who has represented Xi on trips abroad.

In his former position as vice premier, Wang periodically travelled to the United States, where then-president Barack Obama once gave the Chinese delegation a signed basketball.

An “amazing” economist, he could now form a “dream team” with another member of the party leadership, Wang Yang, to deal with concerns that US President Donald Trump policies will trigger a trade war, Brown said.

“Maybe they’ll be able to come up with a solution for this massive brewing storm with America about imbalances and tariffs.”

China’s capital was engulfed in a rare flurry of swirling snow on Saturday, sending delegates of the congress scurrying from the Great Hall of the People after the vote.

Legislators beamed when talking about Xi — a stark contrast from the criticism that Chinese people expressed online when term limits were lifted last week, prompting censors into action.

“Our Chairman Xi is too great, truly he is too great,” said Du Meishuang, a Chinese opera singer and delegate from Chairman Mao’s home province of Hunan.

“I hope he will rule for life, truly, this is the common people’s heartfelt wish.”

She said the single vote against his deputy Wang was not a problem: “His age is quite advanced, maybe that was the reason.”

“All Chinese are looking forward” to Xi continuing on, said Zhang Fanhua, a delegate from Anhui, as he hurried into the falling snow.

“This is a great happiness for the country and the nation.”

–

Source: AFP

The post Chinese president Xi Jinping gets second term appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The constitutional changes were passed by China’s annual sitting of the National People’s Congress on Sunday.

The vote was widely regarded as a rubber-stamping exercise. Two delegates voted against the change and three abstained, out of 2,964 votes.

China had imposed a two-term limit on its president since the 1990s.

It was designed to prevent another leader like Chairman Mao Zedong emerging, espousing collective leadership rather than one-man rule and the cult of personality.

But, says the BBC’s Stephen McDonell in Beijing, China’s president has now amassed power the likes of which has not been seen here for decades and he is even less likely to be challenged after today’s result.

Mr Xi defied the tradition of presenting a potential successor during October’s Communist Party Congress.

Instead, he consolidated his political power as the party voted to enshrine his name and political ideology in the party’s constitution – elevating his status to the level of its founder, Chairman Mao.

In late February, the party proposed removing term limits from China’s constitution. Mr Xi was due to step down in 2023.

On paper, the congress is the most powerful legislative body in China – similar to the parliament in other nations. But it was widely believed that it would approve what it was told to.

–

Source: BBC

The post China approves ‘president for life’ change appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The move would allow the current President Xi Jinping to remain as leader after he is due to step down.

There had been widespread speculation that Mr Xi would seek to extend his presidency beyond 2023.

Party congress last year saw him cement his status as the most powerful leader since the late Mao Zedong.

His ideology was also enshrined in the party’s constitution at the congress, and in a break with convention, no obvious successor was unveiled.

Born in 1953, Mr Xi is the son of one of the Communist Party’s founding fathers. He joined the party in 1974, climbing its ranks before becoming president in 2013.

His presidency has seen economic reform, a fierce campaign against corruption, as well as a resurgence in nationalism and a crackdown on human rights.

–

Source: BBC

The post China proposes to let Xi Jinping extend presidency beyond 2023 appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Xi has stressed the need to upgrade China’s toilets in order to build a more civilised society and improve the hygiene of the masses. He first launched the “toilet revolution” in 2015, initially aimed at building better bathrooms at tourist sites.

The stench and filth of many Chinese toilets horrifies foreigners.

But the latest campaign is also about improving the bathroom experience for the domestic populations. Xi has reminded cadres of the need to carry out the toilet tumult until the end, perhaps akin to Marx’s permanent revolution, and encouraged officials to continue to modernise tourist bathrooms while expanding the push to rural homes.

Many country loos are simple pit toilets and lack plumbing.

“The toilet issue is no small thing, it’s an important aspect of building civilised cities and countryside,” Xi said in a front-page article in the People’s Daily, the Communist party mouthpiece.

“This work must be a concrete part of advancing our country’s revitalisation strategy and we must make great efforts to fill these shortcomings that affect the quality of life of the masses.”

During Xi’s visits to the countryside he has often checked on the loos in rural homes to see if residents use pit toilets. Earlier this month at an important Communist party meeting he said meeting the public’s expectations for a better quality of life was the party’s main challenge.

“There is still a yawning gap between China’s strong economic development and people’s standard of living. A beautiful environment and hygienic toilets are essential to a good standard,” Bai Lin, China project manager with the World Toilet Organisation, told the South China Morning Post.

The National Tourism Administration announced plans last week to build and upgrade 64,000 toilets between 2018 and 2020 as part of a plan titled Advance the Toilet Revolution Steadily. China’s tourism industry has already upgraded 68,000 loos in the past three years, or about 19% of its target, as part of “universally welcomed” renovations, according to state news agency Xinhua.

While the United Nations has declared 19 November World Toilet Day, Chinese authorities have taken that one step further, branding the event “World Toilet Day and China Toilet Revolution Awareness Day”.

–

Source: The Guardian

The post Xi Jinping makes China’s toilets a number two priority appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The unanimous vote to incorporate “Xi Jinping Thought” happened at the end of the Communist Party congress, China’s most important political meeting.

Mr Xi has steadily increased his grip on power since becoming leader in 2012.

This move means that any challenge to Mr Xi will now be seen as a threat to Communist Party rule.

More than 2,000 delegates gathered in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People for the final approval process to enshrine “Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the new era” into the Communist Party constitution of China.

At the end of the process, delegates were asked if they had any objections, to which they responded with loud cries of “none”, reported journalists at the scene.

Previous Chinese Communist Party leaders have had their ideologies incorporated into the party’s constitution or thinking, but none, besides founder Mao Zedong, have had their philosophy described as “thought”, which is at the top of the ideological hierarchy.

Only Mao and Deng Xiaoping have had their names attached to their ideologies – and Deng’s name was only added to the constitution after his death.

China’s new slogan hardly trips off the tongue.

But school children, college students and staff at state factories will now have to join 90 million Communist Party members in studying “Xi Jinping Thought” on the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The expression “new era” is the party’s way of saying this is the third chapter of modern China.

If the first was Chairman Mao uniting a country devastated by civil war, and the second was getting rich under Deng Xiaoping, this new era is about even more unity and wealth at the same time as making China disciplined at home and strong abroad.

Enshrining all of this under Xi Jinping’s name in the party constitution means rivals cannot now challenge China’s strongman without threatening Communist Party rule.

What exactly is this ideology?

At first glance, “Xi Jinping Thought” may seem like vague rhetoric, but it describes the Communist ideals Mr Xi has continuously espoused throughout his rule.

Its 14 main principles emphasise the Communist Party’s role in governing every aspect of the country, and also include:

• A call for “complete and deep reform” and “new developing ideas”
• A promise of “harmonious living between man and nature” – this is a call for improved environmental conservation, and could refer to the stated aim to have the bulk of China’s energy needs supplied by renewables
• An emphasis on “absolute authority of the party over the people’s army” – which comes amid what analysts call the largest-ever turnover of senior military officials in modern Chinese history
• An emphasis on the importance of “‘one country two systems” and reunification with the motherland – a clear reference to Hong Kong and Taiwan

What else has been happening?

More than 2,000 delegates have spent the week-long congress confirming picks for provincial party chiefs, governors and heads of some state-owned enterprises.

On Tuesday, they finalised the make-up of top bodies such as the Central Committee and the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

What else should we look out for?

On Wednesday, the new Central Committee will decide who gets to be in the higher-level Politburo.

Though delegates get some say, in reality the elections are guided by the Party’s top leadership where at each stage voters pick from pre-selected candidates.

Also on Wednesday, the Party will reveal the new members of its pinnacle body, the Politburo Standing Committee. Mr Xi is widely expected to remain as party leader, while prominent Xi ally and anti-corruption chief Wang Qishan is to step down.

Those in the Standing Committee will be especially scrutinised. The BBC’s Robin Brant in Beijing says its make-up may give signs about who Mr Xi has in mind to succeed him.

Mr Xi’s term ruling China has been marked by significant development, a push for modernisation and increasing assertiveness on the world stage.

However, it has also seen growing authoritarianism, censorship and a crackdown on human rights.

–

Source: BBC

The post Xi Jinping ‘most powerful Chinese leader since Mao Zedong’ appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

“It means that the path, theory, system and the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics have kept developing, blazing a new trail for other developing countries to achieve modernisation,” he stated.

The Marxism-Leninism socialist concept was introduced in China in 1921 where it was integrated with the Chinese workers’ movement.

The President was speaking at the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) last Wednesday. It was on the theme: “Secure a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and strive for the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a New Era.”

The august occasion, which is celebrated every five years by the (CPC), was attended by 2,280 delegates, representing over 89 million party members.

The ruling party will take stock of its activities over the last five years and chart the way forward for accelerated growth in the ensuing years.

At the end of the ongoing congress, a central committee of the CPC will be selected and a seven-member ruling council chosen by the party.

President Xi , who is also the party’s General Secretary, described the last five years of his administration as remarkable. “We have upheld the underlying principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, risen to challenges, pioneered and pushed ahead and made historic achievements in reform, opening up to socialist modernisation,” he said.

The President said in the long run, China intended to develop into a modern socialist country “that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful.”

He said the dawn of the new era would also ensure that China would eventually take centre stage in world affairs. “Let all of us, Chinese nation, come together, keep going and create a mighty force that enables us to realise the Chinese Dream,” President Xi Jinping admonished.

Foreign policy
On the foreign policy directive of China, President Xi Jinping assured the world that his country would uphold its fundamental policy goal of preserving world peace and promoting common development.

“China remains firm in its commitment to strengthening friendship and cooperation with other countries on the basis of principles of peaceful coexistence to forging a new form of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation,” he stated.

The President, however, expressed concern over the lack of energy in global economic growth, the widening gap between the rich and poor, unconventional security threats such as terrorism, cyber insecurity, infectious diseases and climate change.

“Our world is full of both hope and challenges. We should not give up our dreams because the reality around us is too complicated; we should not stop pursuing our ideals because they seem out of our reach. No country can address the many challenges facing mankind alone; no country can afford to retreat into self-isolation,” he emphasised.

President Xi Jinping further called on countries to work together to build a community with a shared future for mankind that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity.

“We should respect each other, discuss issues as equals and resolutely reject the Cold War mentality and power politics. We should commit to settling disputes through dialogue and resolving differences through discussions” he said.

–

Source: Graphic Online

The post Scientific Socialism still vital in 21st century – Chinese President appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

Mr. Alexander Odoi Nartey, Deputy Chief Executive in-charge of Finance and Investment, National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) said the old cards were still valid and acceptable by any service provider until the five-year tenure expires.

The NHIA is currently registering clients for the biometric health Insurance cards in the Greater Accra, Central and Eastern Regions and hope to extend the exercise to the rest of the regions by December 2014.

Mr. Nartey made this known at a Regional Staff durbar at Takoradi in the Western region and urged staff of the organisation to educate clients on the process to avoid a mad rush at registration points.

The Head of Finance and Investment said the Authority was also scaling up the capitation of the scheme and to improve the electronic-claims to ensure efficiency.

Mr. Nartey asked various managers of the scheme to popularize the call centres to ensure effective public engagement.

Mr. Winfred Agbeibor, Director, Corporate Affairs of the Scheme said the re-branding of the authority called for a united effort in administering healthcare services to clients.

Source: GNA

The post Don’t discard old NHIS cards – NHIA to subscribers appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.