As Xi Jinping is expected to secure a fourth term at the upcoming 21st National Congress of the Communist Party of China, university students in China have issued a statement calling for the abolition of indefinite presidential term limits, according to reports from Taiwanese media on October 27.
The statement was posted on an online forum by undergraduate and graduate students from 17 major universities, including Peking University, Renmin University of China, Nankai University, and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, just before the fifth plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party, which began on October 26. The posts were quickly deleted shortly after being uploaded.
The statement reflects students' feelings of confusion and anxiety following the removal of a constitutional provision in 2018 that limited the president's consecutive terms to two. The students argued, "The country needs stability, and development requires continuity, which should come from the predictability of the system rather than reliance on individuals."
The statement formally presented three main demands: the abolition of indefinite term limits for the president and the highest party leadership, the re-establishment of term limits, the initiation of democratic constitutional reforms, and the establishment of mechanisms for elections, oversight, and removal; and the guarantee of public space for national policy discussions.
The posts were captured and rapidly spread on major overseas social media platforms after being uploaded to the dark web forum 'Freedomland.' However, Taiwanese media reported that the original posting records, reasons for deletion, and the identities of the authors have not been independently verified.
In March 2018, China amended its constitution to remove the limit on consecutive terms for the president and vice president, providing a legal basis for Xi's long-term rule. At that time, Chinese authorities stated it was a measure to uphold the authority and centralized leadership of the party. However, foreign media have assessed that this has weakened the collective leadership system and accelerated the concentration of power in one individual.
A diplomatic and political analyst noted, "It is very rare for Chinese university students to publicly sign a collective statement demanding political reform since the 1989 Tiananmen incident. The immediate deletion of the statement indicates that the space for political expression within China is extremely limited, and we must watch for any follow-up actions, such as authorities summoning the participating students for questioning."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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