Reject Bid To Extend Xi's Rule, Say Open Letters

In a rare public expression of dissent, a well-known political commentator and a prominent businesswoman on the mainland have penned open letters urging lawmakers to reject a plan that would allow President Xi Jinping to rule indefinitely.

Their impassioned statements on a popular messaging app were circulated widely after the Communist Party announced a proposal on Sunday to scrap term limits on the president and vice president.

In a statement on WeChat to Beijing's members of the National People's Congress, Li Datong, a former editor for the state-run China Youth Daily, wrote that lifting term limits would "sow the seeds of chaos".

"If there are no term limits on a country's highest leader, then we are returning to an imperial regime," Li said on Tuesday. "My generation has lived through Mao. That era is over. How can we possibly go back to it?"

Wang Ying, a businesswoman who has advocated for government reforms, wrote on WeChat that the Communist Party's proposal was "an outright betrayal" and "against the tides".

"I know that you [the government] will dare to do anything," she wrote, "and one ordinary person's voice is certainly useless. But I am a Chinese citizen, and I don't plan on leaving. This is my motherland too!"

An official in the information department of the National People's Congress Standing Committee said on Tuesday that he was not aware of the open letters.

Government and party spokesmen have yet to offer any detailed explanations on the reasoning and motivation behind the dropping of term limits. Nor is it clear whether Xi will seek to remain president for life or will only stay on for a set number of additional terms.

While censors have moved swiftly to delete any satirical online commentary on the move, a range of opposition views continue to be shared. The Global Times, a newspaper published by the Communist Party, said "outside forces" were trying to challenge the party's leadership. (AP)