Hu Jintao Kicked Out Of Congress For Protesting

It is a moment that for many observers has come to define strongman leader Xi Jinping’s tightening grip on China: his visibly frail predecessor, Hu Jintao, being escorted out of a key Communist Party meeting during a five-yearly leadership reshuffle – apparently at Xi’s behest.

Photo Insert: Speculation was rife that Hu was prepared to denounce the proceedings and call for the ouster of Xi.

Images of two men ushering the 79-year-old from his seat and toward the exit were beamed across the world as the party’s National Congress came to a close Saturday, leading to days of speculation over whether Hu was the victim of a deliberately public power play.

This week, those rumors have only grown and the intrigue is likely to grow further still with the release of footage showing the 90 seconds leading up to his sudden removal.

The footage, released by Singapore broadcaster CNA on Tuesday, shows a series of high-level exchanges between senior party leaders, in which Hu is repeatedly prevented from looking at official documents in front of him.

It shows Li Zhanshu, the party’s outgoing number-three official, who is sitting next to Hu at the front table on stage, take the documents from Hu’s hand and place them under a red folder.

When Hu then reaches for the documents, Li pulls them away. Xi, who is sat on Hu’s other side, glances at the exchanges and summons a senior aide to whom he speaks briefly. Moments later, a second aide hurries over, receives instruction from Xi, then speaks to an apparently nonplussed Hu.

Hu Jintao purportedly questioned the proceedings and decried the installation of Xi Jinping as a most powerful leader who controls the party, the military and the state, contrary to what had been agreed upon in the August meeting in Beidahei, where the succession issue is tackled and agreed upon.

Speculation was rife that Hu was prepared to denounce the proceedings and call for the ouster of Xi. Hu was miffed earlier after Xi prevented the publication of his tribute to his mother.

Xi had been criticized for seeking help in gaining two provincial party posts and heading the Central Party School, where he tangled with intellectuals and party theoreticians.

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