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October 24, 2022

Xi Jinping Clinches Third Term, As Anti-Government Protest Quietly Spreads
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Xi Jinping was named head of China's ruling Communist Party, as the
Communist Party Congress wrapped up Saturday, ushering in a third term
for Xi as China's leader. Lawmakers abolished presidential term limits
in 2018, meaning Xi can remain in power indefinitely. President Xi also
announced his top political team, stacked with loyalists. This is Xi
Jinping, as he introduced his appointees to the press Sunday.

President Xi Jinping: "In the face of new challenges and tests on the
new journey, we must be highly vigilant, always maintain the sobriety
and prudence to catch up with the examinations, and promote the strict
governance of the Party across the board without ceasing, so that the
century-old Party will continue to flourish in its self-revolution and
always become the most reliable and strongest backbone of the Chinese
people."

In a dramatic scene Saturday, former President Hu Jintao was abruptly
escorted out of the closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress, a
move that some speculated was an assertion of Xi's dominance. Chinese
state media later said it was because the former leader was "not feeling
well".

Despite Xi's grip on power, protests against his rule have spread in
China and beyond, following the display of a protest banner on a busy
overpass in Beijing earlier this month. Authorities have censored news
of the protest from websites and social media, but the protester's words
have since been scribbled on public restroom doors in China and on
posters displayed in universities around the world. They read, in part:
"dignity, not lies; reform, not cultural revolution; votes, not
dictatorship; citizens, not slaves".


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