Former Chinese President Escorted Out of Communist Party Congress

Former Chinese president Hu Jintao was removed by officials during the closing ceremony of a Chinese Communist Party Congress session Saturday.

Hu sat next to current Chinese president Xi Jinping. Near the close of the meeting, two stewards escorted Hu off the stage of the main auditorium of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Reuters reported.

A staff member first tried to lift Hu by his arm out of the chair. Then Kong Shaoxun, head of the party’s secretariat, approached. Hu had a brief conversation with the men but seemed hesitant to leave.

Then two officials arrived at his chair. They were seen repeatedly trying to hoist Hu out of his seat, while the former leader appeared distressed. Hu then placed his hand on a document on Xi’s folder, an effort Xi blocked by placing his own hand on the sheet.

The individual seated on the other side of Hu, China’s top lawmaker Li Zhanshu, handed one of the officials Hu’s folder. He wiping his head with a cloth after Hu complied and agreed to be carried away.

However, Hu did not willingly exit, video footage suggests. He showed signs of pushback as he turned back to his chair. Comments were made to Xi as he left. Hu also patted Premier Li Keqiang on the shoulder as he departed. Xi and Li nodded but it is unclear what was said.

Chinese social media platforms attempted to suppress video of the incident, though it was widely circulated on Twitter. Some accounts hinted to the drama on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, by commenting on old posts featuring Hu, sometimes used as a strategy to make a point while going undetected by social media censors. Official Chinese media has made no mention of the bizarre event.

Hu’s health has been reportedly declining since he retired in 2013. The abrupt removal happened after the Congress had approved new members of the party’s Central Committee. One of the new members is Xi. He has been perceived as an authoritarian figure who squashes competition within the governing ranks and limits the influence of older party leaders. Xi, 69, is expected to secure a third five-year leadership term as party general secretary, consolidating his power over the country.

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