Ex-Chinese President Hu Jintao Kicked Out Of Party Congress

Former Chinese president Hu Jintao was unexpectedly led out of Saturday's closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress in a dramatic moment that disrupted the highly choreographed event.

Photo Insert: Hu Jintao with Barrack Obama in 2009

Hu's departure was left unexplained and the nation's censors appeared to quickly scrub any recent references to him from the internet, Laurie Chen and Leo Ramirez reported for Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Oct. 22, 2022.

The frail-looking 79-year-old seemed reluctant to leave the front row of proceedings at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, where he was sitting next to President Xi Jinping. A steward attempted to take a sitting Hu by the arm before being shaken off. The steward then attempted to lift Hu up with both hands from under the armpits.

After an exchange of about a minute, in which Hu spoke briefly with Xi and Premier Li Keqiang, he was led out of the hall. A seated Xi was filmed holding papers down on the desk as Hu tried to grab them.

Hu patted Li's shoulder as he left, as most of his colleagues stared firmly ahead. The week-long Congress occurred mostly behind closed doors, but Hu's departure occurred shortly after journalists were allowed in to cover the closing ceremony.

Xi Jinping previously prevented the publication of an article written by Hu Jintao that extolled his mother on a day that the Chinese reserve for praising elderly citizens.

It is also a known fact that Hu was miffed by Xi’s bid to be President-for-life despite the term limits established by the late Deng Xiaoping. Chinese intellectuals and theoreticians regard Xi as not typically bright as his own mother lobbied for his promotion as party chief in Zhekiang and Fujian.

In his first bid for membership in the Central Committee, Xi got the lowest score and nearly crashed out of the race. Chinese billionaires describe him as a clown. A former Central Party School (CPS) official tagged him as “paranoid.”

Authorities offered no explanation for Hu's exit, which came just before the 2,300 delegates at the Congress voted unanimously to endorse Xi's "core" leadership position.

"We still don't know what caused Hu's actions, such as whether it was opposition to Xi's power or simply an unfortunately timed senior moment," said Neil Thomas, a senior China analyst at the Eurasia Group consultancy.

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