In the images, an assistant is seen trying to grab the former president’s arm, but he refuses. The man then tries to lift him by the armpits, but the politician, who led the country between 2003 and 2013, continues to resist.
At that moment, Hu tries to grab some documents from his desk, which appear to belong to the Chinese leader. Xi Jinping holds them firmly. Next, The assistant has a brief conversation with the former president and finally manages to escort him out.
The authorities did not give any official explanation for what happened and did not respond to AFP requests for information.
Getting up, Hu Jintao has a brief exchange with Xi Jinping, who responds without looking at him, and with Prime Minister Li Keqiang, whom he gives a friendly pat on the shoulder. The other attendees don’t seem fazed.
The scene came shortly after the press entered the venue and just before the unanimous vote by some 2,300 Chinese Communist Party delegates to include Xi Jinping’s “central role” in the party’s statutes.
Hu, who retired in 2013, appeared last Sunday for the opening ceremony of the congress looking very old and with completely gray hair.
“It is still not clear what motivated him, whether it was to counter Xi’s power or an unpleasant moment for an older person.”Neil Thomas, an analyst at Eurasia Group, commented, adding: “In the absence of more information, it is difficult to draw any conclusions about the relationship between this incident and Chinese politics.”
“Whether it was deliberate, or he was suffering, the effect is the same. Total humiliation for the last generation of leaders before Xi,” tweeted Alex White, a British analyst who lived in China.
On Saturday afternoon, the name “Hu Jintao” appeared to be censored on the Weibo social network. There was only information from the day before released by official accounts. Xi Jinping, 69, is due to be confirmed this weekend as general secretary of the party, before his re-election in 2023 as president of the country, in an unprecedented third term.
Since coming to power in late 2012, Xi has amassed power in the second world power and strengthened the regime’s authority.
Source: Ambito
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