The predecessor of Xi Jinping, who ruled the country from 2003 to 2013, first appeared to protest before being led out at the closing ceremony of the 20th CPC Congress.
The incident is highly unusual. Saturday morning at the closing ceremony from communist party congressformer Chinese President Hu Jintao was escorted out. Appearing weakened, the 79-year-old, who served as China’s president from 2003 to 2013, was pressured by staff to get up from his seat next to Xi Jinping in the front row of the People’s Palace. At first reluctant, he seems to be arguing and tries for a moment to take documents on his desk, which seem to belong to the Chinese number one. Xi Jinping holds them firmly.
A conversation of about a minute ensues between the employee and Hu Jintao. The latter is finally convinced to leave the premises, visibly reluctantly. Held by the arm, the former president is escorted to the exit. As he stands up, Hu Jintao has a brief exchange with Xi Jinping, who answers him without looking at him, and Premier Li Keqiang, whom he pats on the shoulder. The audience seems impassive.
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This sequence, which occurred just before the unanimous vote, by some 2300 delegates of the PCC, to integrate into the party charter the “central roleby Xi Jinping, was not immediately explained or reported by state media. Any recent reference to his name appears to have been censored on the Chinese internet. Hu Jintao had surprised at the opening of the congress last Sunday by appearing aged, the hair now completely white.
Xi Jinping, 69, is expected to get a third term this weekend as party general secretary, which guarantees him an unprecedented third presidential term next March. The new Central Committee, a kind of party parliament with around 200 members, was elected shortly after 11 a.m. (0300 GMT) on Saturday, according to the official New China agency, which has not yet revealed its composition.