On 29 September 2017, CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party and decided to launch the constitutional amendment work. To this end, a constitutional amendment group to carry out work under the leadership of the Politburo Standing Committee was created, with Zhang Dejiang as the group leader and Li Zhanshu and Wang Huning as deputy group leaders.[1] On 27 December, Xi Jinping chaired a meeting of the Politburo and decided to convene the second plenary session of the 19th CCP Central Committee in January 2018 to discuss and study proposals for amending the Constitution.[2]
From January 18 to 19, 2018, the second plenary session of the 19th Central Committee was held. The plenary session reviewed and approved the "Proposal of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on Amending Some Contents of the Constitution".[3] On January 26, the Central Committee submitted the proposal to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.[3] On January 30, the thirty second session of the Standing Committee of the 12th National People's Congress unanimously passed the "Draft Amendment to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China" drafted on the basis of the Central Committee's constitutional amendment proposal, and decided to submit it to the first session of the 13th National People's Congress for deliberation.[4]
The first session of the 13th NPC opened on 5 March. On March 9, 2,952 deputies of the NPC proposed additional amendments to the draft to change the name of the "Law Committee" to "Constitution and Law Committee". The Secretariat of the Presidium of the Congress decided to add a paragraph to Article 44 of the Draft Constitutional Amendment and include the additional amendments as the second paragraph.[5] On the afternoon of March 11, the NPC voted to pass the Draft Constitutional Amendment. At 15:52, the host of the Congress announced that the Constitutional Amendment was passed.[6] There were 2,958 votes in favor, 2 votes against, 3 abstentions and 1 invalid vote.[7] On the 14th, it was reported that the amended Constitution had been published by the People's Press and distributed in Xinhua Bookstores across the country.[8]
The leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was codified into the main body of the constitution, with the following sentence added after the second paragraph of Article 1 of the Constitution: "The leadership of the Communist Party of China is the most essential feature of socialism with Chinese characteristics."[9]
The constitutional oath of office system was codified into the constitution, with the third paragraph being added to Article 27 of the Constitution: "When assuming office, state officials shall publicly take the constitutional oath in accordance with the law."[9]
The setup of the NPC's Special Committees was adjusted and the NPC Law Committee was changed into the NPC Constitution and Law Committee.[9]
The term limits for the President and Vice President were abolished. The third paragraph of Article 79 of the Constitution deleted the clause "The President and Vice President may not serve for more than two consecutive terms."[11]
Cities with districts were officially granted the power of local legislation. The second paragraph is added to Article 100 of the Constitution: "The people’s congresses of cities divided into districts and their standing committees may, in accordance with the provisions of law, formulate local regulations, which are to take effect after being reported to and approved by the standing committees of the people’s congresses of the corresponding provinces or autonomous regions, provided that such regulations do not contravene the Constitution, laws, administrative regulations, or the local regulations of the corresponding provinces or autonomous regions."[9]
The National Supervisory Commission was established, with a new section was added to Chapter 3 of the Constitution "National Organs" as Section 7, the "Supervisory Commission". In addition, the relevant articles of the Constitution were amended. Afterwards, the Ministry of Supervision, the National Bureau of Corruption Prevention, the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Procuratorate of Malfeasance and Infringement, and the Office of Prevention of Occupational Crimes were abolished.[9]
References
↑ "广泛征求意见 宪法修正案草案历时4个月形成"[The draft constitutional amendment was finalized after four months of extensive consultation]. China Youth Daily (in Chinese). 5 March 2018. Archived from the original on 5 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
↑ "中国共产党第十九届中央委员会第二次全体会议公报"[Communiqué of the Second Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party]. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 19 January 2018. Archived from the original on 19 January 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
1 2 "中国共产党中央委员会关于修改宪法部分内容的建议"[Proposal of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party on amending some contents of the Constitution]. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 25 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
↑ "王晨作关于《中华人民共和国宪法修正案（草案）》的说明（摘要）"[Wang Chen made an explanation on the "Draft Amendment to the Constitution of the People's Republic of China" (Abstract)]. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 6 March 2018. Archived from the original on 7 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
↑ Liu, Shixin; Wang, Xinxin; Wang, Yijun (9 March 2018). "2952名代表提出意见赞成设立全国人大宪法和法律委员会"[2,952 deputies expressed their support for the establishment of the National People's Congress Constitution and Law Committee]. The Paper (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 9 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
↑ "特写：历史性的庄严时刻——记十三届全国人大一次会议表决通过宪法修正案"[Feature: A historic and solemn moment - the 13th National People's Congress voted to pass the constitutional amendment]. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
↑ "中国全国人大高票通宪法修正案"[China's National People's Congress passes constitutional amendment bill with overwhelming majority]. Lianhe Zaobao (in Chinese). 11 March 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
↑ "《中华人民共和国宪法》出版"[The Constitution of the People's Republic of China has been published]. Xinhua News Agency (in Chinese). 14 March 2018. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
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