Video footage of Hu’s inglorious exit sparked a wave of speculation and censorship. Chinese state media did not show the closing ceremony, contrary to their custom, but some foreign journalists captured the footage. The 79-year-old Hu Jintao, who looked frail and weakened at the opening of the Party Congress, is helped out of his chair – who is next to Xi Jinping – but struggles. Outgoing party boss Li Zhanshu to his right wants to intervene, but is stopped by Xi’s strongman Wang Huning.
When Hu is led away, he briefly says something to Xi Jinping and pats his former pupil, Prime Minister Li Keqiang, on the back. The incident, which lasts less than a minute, appeals to the imagination because it is very different from the tight choreography of the Party Congress, and because it reflects the drama behind the scenes of Chinese politics: Xi Jinping has increased the power of his supporters at the expense from Hu Jintao’s allies, such as Li Keqiang.
Given the opacity of Chinese politics, the true circumstances of Hu’s unexpected departure may never be clear, but the unusual images sparked much speculation. Some China experts suspect that Hu was taken off the stage for health reasons. The former party leader looked confused, which could explain his opposition.
Dissatisfaction with leadership
A more exciting, but unverifiable explanation is that during the Party Congress, Hu expressed his dissatisfaction with Xi’s authoritarian leadership, and that his forced departure was a display of Xi’s power, perhaps even a way of humiliating Hu publicly. In his report, Xi previously lashed out at Hu’s rule, which he said was marked by “a lack of efficient action” and “a slide into weak, hollow and watered-down leadership.”
Xi also banned two of Hu’s key supporters from the Central Committee on Saturday, from which members are selected for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) two highest power organs, the Politburo and Standing Committee. They will be marked on Sunday. In addition to Prime Minister Li Keqiang, party veteran Wang Yang was not reappointed. The two 67-year-olds could have been given an extra term on the Standing Committee under the old rules of retirement age.
Xi stuffed the Central Committee with his own supporters, even reappointing some of his supporters beyond retirement age, such as 69-year-old Foreign Minister Wang Yi or 72-year-old General Zhang Youxia. It shows that Xi has garnered so much power that he doesn’t care much about party norms, as evidenced by his pursuit of a third term as party leader. On Sunday it will become clear whether Xi’s party leadership consists entirely of his own loyalists, or whether it still contains a single (weak) vote against.
The images of Hu Jintao were not visible on Chinese social media and websites, and on many websites all references to the former party leader disappeared. On Weibo, the Chinese Twitter, which was completely devoted to the Party Congress on Saturday, the search term ‘Hu Jintao’ only returned messages that were at least five days old. Chinese state media did not broadcast the closing ceremony, possibly to prevent viewers from seeing Hu’s empty seat.