In a highly dramatized event at the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th party congress, the former president of China, Hu Jintao, was unexpectedly led out from the closing ceremony of the meeting.
In a video that is getting circulated on social media, the former Chinese leader can be seen sitting in the front row with the Politburo standing committee members in the Great Hall of the People before being moved out from the hall.
Hu was sitting next to President Xi Jinping and initially hesitated to leave the hall after which a staff member escorted him out.
On his way out, Hu spoke with Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, before he patted Li Keqiangs’s shoulder. Subsequently, he was led out from the hall accompanied by an escort.
The reason for this sudden departure of the former Chinese president from the party meeting is obscure. No official comments regarding the incident have come from the Chinese side. Looking at the obscurity of the communist state, it is least expected that a clarification would be given on the issue.
The meeting of the Communist party is held every five years in which decisions regarding top-level leadership changes in the CCP and amendments to the party’s constitution are taken.
The 20th meeting of the CCP, which began on 16th October 2022, strengthened Xi Jinping’s position as the party’s most powerful leader. It is also expected that the Chinese Communist Party will give Xi, his historic third term as the president of China.
Hu Jintao was the president of China from 2003 to 2013 and also earlier served as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from 2002 to 2012.
