As you might have heard by now, Chinese President Xi Jinping has just appointed himself God Emperor For Life. Or, in Chinese Communist Party-ese: “The term of office of the State Council is the same as that of the National People’s Congress.”

For those keeping track at home, that’s the clause in the Chinese constitution that used to read: “The term of office of the President and Vice-President of the People’s Republic of China is the same as that of the National People’s Congress, and they shall serve no more than two consecutive terms.” But the rubber-stamp congress just passed a constitutional amendment dropping that term limit, so, unlike his predecessors, Xi Jinping will be able to continue on as President after his second five-year term expires in 2023.

Or, in other words: Meet Xi Jinping, President For Life!

Now, no one can say this was entirely unexpected. In fact, I raised the specter of Xi staying on after his second term in my editorial about last year’s National Congress. But the fact that it happened so quickly, and with so little preparation of the public, seems to have caught everyone off guard.

So what does this move really mean? As you might have expected, the answer is “a lot,” but not at all in the way you think. Allow me to explain.

Learn all about “President For Life” Xi and what it really means in this week’s editorial, and access this month’s subscriber video in this edition of The Corbett Report Subscriber.

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