BEIJING: Xi Jinping was elected Chinese president by a unanimous vote Saturday morning at the ongoing session of the 13th National People’s Congress. Xi, 64, was also elected chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) by a unanimous vote. Right after the election, Xi took a public oath of allegiance to the Constitution in the Great Hall of the People. “I pledge my allegiance to the constitution of the PRC to safeguard the constitution’s authority, fulfill my legal obligations,” the president said. “[I pledge to] be loyal to the country and the people, be committed and honest in my duty, accept the people’s supervision and work for a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.” This was the first time for a Chinese president to take such an oath upon assuming office. With the national emblem hung up high in an auditorium inside the Great Hall of the People, everybody stood and a hard copy of the constitution was brought to the stage by honor guards as the ceremony started at around 10:49 a.m. After a chorus of the national anthem was sung by all present, Xi, in a dark suit, took the podium, placed his left hand upon the Constitution, raised his right fist, and read the oath. “[I pledge to] be loyal to the country and the people, be committed and honest in my duty, accept the people’s supervision and work for a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful,” he said. He then bowed and returned to his seat amid warm applause. The ceremony was held just six days after the national legislature added oaths of allegiance into the newly-amended constitution Sunday. Based on a legislative decision passed by the top legislature in July 2015, China put the system into effect in January 2016, requiring all state functionaries to take a public oath of allegiance to the constitution when assuming office. The PRC enacted its first constitution in 1954. The current constitution was adopted in 1982 and amended in 1988, 1993, 1999, 2004 and 2018. Last October, he was elected general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and appointed CMC chairman of the CPC at the first plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee. He was first elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in late 2012, and Chinese president and CMC chairman of the PRC in March 2013. Xi told the Party’s 19th National Congress in the opening speech that socialism with Chinese characteristics had entered a ‘new era’. At the party congress, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era was written into the CPC Constitution, and into the country’s Constitution on March 11, becoming the guiding principle of China. Published in Daily Times, March 18th 2018.