China’s Premier Elected to Head People’s Congress
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BEIJING — Despite an embarrassingly high number of dissenting votes, China’s premier was elected today to head the national legislature.
The National People’s Congress also reelected President Jiang Zemin, delegates said, while Jiang’s protege, Hu Jintao, was approved as vice president. Jiang is also general secretary of the Communist Party.
Since most candidates for the top government posts ran unopposed, the outcomes were expected.
The unpopular Premier Li Peng did not receive an overwhelming endorsement from the usually docile legislature. While 2,616 lawmakers voted for him, 200 voted against and 126 abstained.
Li’s election to the chairmanship of the National People’s Congress will enable him to continue to exercise his influence after he leaves the premiership this spring, having served the constitutional limit of two five-year terms.
Li is widely disliked for declaring martial law in Beijing in May 1989, weeks into massive democracy demonstrations in Tiananmen Square.
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