Former Chinese President Hu Jintao was unexpectedly taken out Saturday at the closing ceremony of the Communist Party of China, where he sat next to President Xi Jinping.
The 79-year-old, Xi Jinping’s immediate predecessor, sat to the left of the Chinese leader when two men, believed to be security officials, approached him and threw him out of his seat.
The ceremony marked the end of a week-long congressional session that cemented Xi’s third term in office, making him the longest-serving Chinese leader since Mao Zedong.
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Video footage of the highly unusual incident has circulated on social media, raising questions as to why the former leader, who served from 2003 to 2013, was forcibly removed.
Footage released by AFP showed officials trying to force Mr. Hu out of his seat as Mr. Xi turned to face him. Hu then put his hand on the paper placed on top of Xi’s folder, but the Chinese president immediately put his hand on the paper to prevent him from taking it.
Li Zhanshu, a Chinese lawmaker sitting to Hu’s left, handed over a folder to President Hu, a security official.
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As Fu stood up, Lee wiped his forehead with a cloth.
President Xi did not directly see Hu leave his seat, but rather sat there with his head tilted and listened to him.
Hu did not leave, touching the back of Xi’s right arm and saying something to the Chinese leader.
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Xi nodded again without looking back, and when Hu was brought out by an official guiding him holding his upper arm, he answered something.
It is not explained what was said or why Fu was forced to leave the ceremony.
The incident reportedly occurred when reporters were called in to cover the ceremony, but references to the day’s drama were removed from Weibo, China’s Twitter-like platform, according to Reuters. It was completely absent from Chinese news reports.