Former Chinese president Hu Jintao was unexpectedly escorted out from the Communist party meet on Saturday, just a day before Xi Jinping is expected to be given an unprecedented third term making him the most powerful leader of China.
The moment, which was an aberration for the weeklong event known for being highly choreographed, showed the increasing power of Xi Jinping.
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Hu Jintao, 79, appeared confused, almost reluctant to leave as two men approached him and tried to physically hoist him out of his chair. Hu Jintao, who was sitting next to Xi Jinping, was then eventually escorted out of the hall at the party’s closing session.
There has been no official explanation of Hu Jintao’s departure yet.
But a report said that following his exit from the key meeting, China’s censors quickly swung into action. Any search results for “Hu Jintao” on the Twitter-like Weibo platform appearing to be heavily censored, Telegraph reported.
State media coverage of the ceremony did not include the scene, Reuters reported. Although, the video of the incident was widely shared on Twitter.
