With a constitutional change, China’s state party is consolidating Secretary General Xi’s power. Ex-President Hu has to leave the room shortly before the vote. A video shows that the 79-year-old is reluctant to give up his seat. State media explain that Hu felt unwell.
Former Chinese President Hu Jintao was escorted out of the hall at the closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress in Beijing. Shortly before the 2,300 delegates voted on an amendment to the party constitution that would consolidate the power of Hu’s successor, Xi Jinping, the 79-year-old had to vacate his place on the podium, escorted by ushers.
China’s state media justified this with the 79-year-old’s health problems. However, Hu appeared reluctant to leave his seat next to Xi. When a usher grabbed his arm, he first fended off the man, as well as a second attempt by the man to lift him from his seat with both hands under his armpits. At the same time, he grabbed papers from the podium table, which Xi held tight. Finally, with difficulty, the usher and a colleague managed to get Hu to stand up.
After a one-minute exchange of words with Xi, the ex-president was finally led out of the room. He briefly patted Prime Minister Li on the shoulder while most of his party colleagues stared straight ahead. Shortly thereafter, the delegates unanimously decided to enshrine Xi Jinping’s “central role” within the CP in the constitutional charter. Xi is expected to receive a third five-year term as CCP general secretary on Sunday.
A report published on Twitter by the state news agency Xinhua said that Hu did not feel well and was then taken out of the room. The team taking care of the ex-president’s health took him to a side room so that he could rest there. Hu is now doing “much better,” it said. The ex-president insisted on attending the final session, even though he is still recovering.
The week-long party congress in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People was largely held behind closed doors, but international journalists had been admitted to the hall for the closing ceremony shortly before the incident. “Whether it was intentional or whether Hu was in pain, the effect is the same. A complete humiliation for the generation of leaders before Xi,” British China expert Alex White commented on the incident on Twitter.
