October 23, 2022, 02:30 PM
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On Oct. 22, former Chinese President Hu Jintao was unceremoniously escorted out of the 20th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) National Congress, while current President Xi Jinping looked on.
Helped by handlers
Partway through the closing session of the national congress, Hu was approached by an aide. The aide appeared to speak to him, before attempting to lift him up, first by tugging on one arm, and then by lifting him under his pits.
Here is the video by AFP's @LeoRamirezAFP showing the moment when former Chinese president Hu Jintao was unexpectedly led out of Saturday's closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congresshttps://t.co/UJ0TlyPnD4
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) October 22, 2022
In a wider angle video on the event, a second aide waits a close distance away.
Early drama: Hu Jintao seen being led out soon after reporters are led into the main hall pic.twitter.com/pRffGZF60I
— Danson Cheong (@dansoncj) October 22, 2022
Standing Committee member Li Zhanshu turns to Hu, appearing concerned. At one point, he even buttons up his suit jacket and prepares to stand, before fellow Standing Committee member Wang Huning appears to stop him from doing so by saying something to him. He then sits back down, looking ahead.
https://twitter.com/jgriffiths/status/1583682235135582210
Li also hands Hu's papers to the handler, which inadvertently caused a slight confusion as Hu tries to take Xi's copy of the session papers, but Xi stops him. Hu was then escorted out of the hall, passing Xi.
Before Hu leaves, he says something to Xi, who nods in reply. Hu also pats Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on the shoulder before being led past a row of senior party members who were looking straight ahead, without acknowledging him.
The brief episode was captured on camera after journalists were allowed into the Great Hall of the People, where the congress was held.
The few video clips of the brief episode circulating on social media appear to start only after the handler approached Hu, without capturing the proceedings prior to the former leader being led out.
Speculation and memes
Perhaps understandable due to the history of political purges that Xi has overseen since taking power, speculation in the English-speaking world -- not helped by the opaque nature of political proceedings in China -- immediately turned to power plays.
把胡锦涛带走的人是习近平的贴身警卫。 pic.twitter.com/iL8qs41B2j
— 方舟子 (@fangshimin) October 22, 2022
Ian Bremmer from the Eurasia Group speculated that this was part of a show of force on the part of Xi, a sign to everyone in the room that he could publicly take out a former secretary-general, much less any other less powerful member of the party.
heard in the room.. pic.twitter.com/v3C2v0B1I1
— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) October 22, 2022
Western press outlets, such as The Guardian and Foreign Policy, also made their own speculations over what could have caused the incident, with almost all of them mentioning the possibility of a public humiliation for the former leader. Foreign Policy's deputy editor James Palmer notably headlined his article "What the hell just happened to Hu Jintao?"
Memes also tapped into the theme of a purge in progress.
— Fernando 🌺🌌 (@zetalyrae) October 22, 2022
Further fuel was added to the fire by reports that discussion, images, and videos of the incident were being censored on China's social media, and that comments sections of previous articles about Hu had been closed.
Searching for all results of the past 24 hours including "Hu Jintao" on both Baidu web and news search only comes up with one single result. It's a Xinhua report on the conclusion of the 20th Party Congress which only mentions Hu once as part of a general assembly list. pic.twitter.com/GRkNIhEQ51
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) October 22, 2022
Hu led out due to health issues
On Oct. 23, China's official state media pushed back against the speculation by releasing a statement saying that Hu had left the assembly due to poor health. He had also apparently "insisted" on attending the closing session even though he had been recuperating, Xinhua said.
He had been taken to a nearby room to recuperate, and was feeling better, Xinhua added.
Xinhuanet reporter Liu Jiawen has learned that Hu Jintao insisted on attending the closing session of the Party's 20th National Congress, despite the fact that he has been taking time to recuperate recently.
— China Xinhua News (@XHNews) October 22, 2022
Such statements are backed by the fact that Hu was also helped into the assembly on the first day by an aide. Speculation over Hu's health, who turns 80 in December 2022, has been ongoing since that appearance, with reports saying that he might be dealing with stomach problems, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
China's leaders have traditionally dyed their hair black in order to maintain an appearance of vitality, but Hu's hair has gone white in the time since the last party congress.
【中共元老举手投足有玄机】
— 自由亚洲电台 (@RFA_Chinese) October 17, 2022
二十大主席台上的元老举手投足，成为观察中共高层政治动态的题材。灰白头发的胡锦涛由随从搀扶入场，胡锦涛表情呆滞，入座时，习近平伸手相扶。一位熟悉胡锦涛的人士告诉本台：“胡锦涛患有胃病、糖尿病等多种慢性病，健康不佳”。详细报道https://t.co/S36GDAMBZs 图AFP pic.twitter.com/98BXOQboKs
Also, it appears that Hu wasn't the only one to be assisted by CCP aides, as his predecessor Jiang Zemin was assisted as well by a handler who lifted him under his armpit in the previous congress five years ago, as can be seen in this Wall Street Journal photo collection from the time.
Jiang is 96 years old, and it is assumed that he is not present for health reasons.
Adding further credence that this was a health episode, rather than a public purge, was the fact that Hu was shown on China's national news later that night, as part of the congress line up.
This is the 7min30 mark in the program showing the shift with Hu Jintao still being there at first and then the seat showing up empty at around 7min50. pic.twitter.com/UUkdrpXLSt
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) October 22, 2022
As pointed out by American author Bill Bishop on Sinocism, a site that analyses China affairs, it would be telling also if Hu's son, Hu Haifeng, who's the party secretary of Lishui, Zhejiang, doesn't experience any political problems in the near future, therefore pointing to the bizarre incident as a result of Hu's health issues, rather than a purge or political show.
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Top image via Lintao Zhang/Getty Images
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