[The Epoch Times, March 18, 2022](The Epoch Times reporters Ning Haizhong and Chang Chun reported) The State Council of the Communist Party of China held a constitutional oath ceremony a few days ago. Li Keqiang was the supervisor of the oath. There are also appearances. Before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the careers of both attracted attention.
Li Keqiang demanded that Xi Jinping Thought should be used as the guide to be loyal to the Constitution at the oath-taking ceremony of the Constitution. Experts believe the CCP’s constitutional oath is purely a show.
Li Keqiang’s whereabouts after stepping down as premier draws attention
According to the People’s Daily Online, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China on March 17, the State Council of the Communist Party of China recently appointed 32 heads of 27 departments and units, and they are required to take the constitutional oath as required. On March 16, the State Council of the Communist Party of China held a constitutional oath ceremony in Zhongnanhai. Chinese Premier Li Keqiang supervises the oath. Vice Premiers Han Zheng, Hu Chunhua and Liu He attended the event.
Li Keqiang confirmed at the National People’s Congress press conference on March 11 that he will step down as prime minister after his current term expires, that is, at the two sessions in March next year.
However, the “Wall Street Journal” said on the 16th that Li Keqiang’s term as prime minister is coming to an end, but Xi Jinping is now under internal and external pressure, and his line must be “corrected”, so that Li Keqiang has the opportunity to arrange some of his own people in key positions before leaving the premiership. Even Li Keqiang is likely to stay at the top of the CCP and hold other leadership positions.
Hu Ping, a Chinese scholar in the United States and honorary editor-in-chief of Beijing Spring, told The Epoch Times that Li Keqiang expressed some of his wishes at the recently concluded press conference of the two sessions. Some inconsistent voices can also be observed from the authorities on some major issues, and even the authorities have made some policy adjustments on some major issues.
Hu Ping believes that Li Keqiang can be considered somewhat different from Xi Jinping’s voice. But for him, the pros outweighed the cons, and the authorities’ line was moving in the direction he had been more insistent on. “In terms of the economy, you see that there is less talk about common prosperity now. In addition, the tone of the suppression of private enterprises has been reduced recently. Obviously, in terms of the economy, the authorities’ statements and practices are different from those of a while ago.”
Zheng Haochang, a current affairs commentator based in the United States, said that it doesn’t matter whether Li Keqiang stays in office or not. Anyway, he is already weak enough, and no matter what position he changes to, this fact will not be changed. The key is who will succeed him and who will take the second position, which will have an impact on the political situation.
Three days ago, Han Zheng was absent from major occasions and resumed his appearance.
This time the oath ceremony of the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party and the State Council, Vice Premier Han Zheng’s resumption of appearance is also cause for concern.
Six members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China, including Xi Jinping, and Wang Qishan, known as the “eighth member of the Standing Committee”, attended the closing ceremony of the Beijing Winter Paralympics on March 13, but Han Zheng, who is also the executive vice premier, was absent that day. Han Zheng was previously reported by foreign media that he worked with Meng Jianzhu, the former secretary of the Central Political and Legal Committee, to promote Sun Lijun, the former deputy minister of the Ministry of Public Security. When Sun Lijun was sacked, he was accused of “extremely inflated political ambitions”.
The reason for Han Zheng’s absence from the closing ceremony of the Winter Paralympics is currently unavailable from official information.
When Han was serving in Shanghai, he was considered an official agent of the Jiang Zemin family.
Hu Ping believes that Han Zheng is definitely not someone Xi Jinping particularly trusts, because Xi thinks that Han Zheng is not from his system, so Han Zheng is not a special person to go to the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China. “Of course Han Zheng and Hu Chunhua have their qualifications there. You can’t let them go. Ages are also listed there, and you still have to stay in office. You can’t completely rule them out.”
He said that, from Xi Jinping’s point of view, he prefers to replace Li Keqiang with someone who has a deeper relationship with him, including some other important positions.
Expert: The oath of the CCP constitution is purely a show
Regarding the oath ceremony held by the State Council of the Communist Party of China, Hu Ping believes that this kind of activity of the CCP is a mere formality. Originally, the swearing-in of the constitution was a ceremony to be carried out when the West took office, but it is different in China.
He said, “Not to mention that China’s constitution itself has many problems, the CCP’s constitutional oath is purely a show, without any substantive significance, it does not show that the person who took the oath has a sincere commitment to the constitution and loyalty to the constitution. , everyone can see clearly.
“You said that in the United States and in the West, people take the constitutional oath, and everyone knows that even if the person you take the oath is not sincere, you also know that your oath is serious, and others can use it to ask you. That is to say, if you violate these things, there will be institutional checks and balances. China (the CCP) lacks such institutional checks and balances, then the oath becomes a kind of performance.
“You can also say that some politicians in the West have sworn that they are not sincere, but as long as you do something illegal, people will be able to criticize you and vote you down, that is, people have the right to oppose and have the right to vote. Monitor your rights, so that your oath becomes meaningful. In China, because there is no monitoring mechanism, no election mechanism, and no mechanism for freedom of speech, official oaths become superficial and have no substantive significance. “
Zheng Haochang also believes that the current Chinese constitution is just a piece of plasticine, “The CCP can make it whatever it wants, and it is useless to swear an oath on this manipulated constitution that can be changed day by day. It’s just like that.”
Responsible editor: Lin Congwen