Hu Jintao’s apparent reluctance to leave led to speculation as to whether political factors were involved.
Beijing:
Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao was seen in public for the first time since being dramatically escorted from a Communist Party summit meeting on Monday as he paid tribute to his late predecessor Jiang Zemin.
In October, Hu was lifted from his chair and ushered out of the party congress closing ceremony, a highly unusual incident that disrupted the carefully choreographed event that saw Xi Jinping handed a historic third term as leader.
Chinese state media later said Hu was unwell, but his obvious reluctance to leave the room led to speculation about whether political factors were involved.
On Monday morning, Hu along with other top leaders appeared at the People’s Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing to pay their final respects to Jiang before his cremation, state broadcaster CCTV footage showed.
The petite 79-year-old stands next to Xi, a servant on his shoulder, as the officials bow three times to Jiang’s body.
Later, Hu is seen walking unsteadily with the help of the same attendant as the cadres walk around the funeral display talking to Jiang’s widow.
At the October Congress, Xi was anointed as party general secretary for another five years, breaking the precedent of two-term resignations followed by Hu and Jiang.
Some believed that Hu’s unexpected removal was intended to send a strong political signal to those in the party who might oppose Xi’s coronation.
A protégé of Hu, Hu Chunhua, had been tipped by some to join the Standing Committee of the Politburo, China’s top power.
But Xi sidelined him and has filled his inner circle with close allies.
Xi has promoted a narrative that he has corrected huge problems that plagued China and the party during the tenure of Hu and his predecessors, such as bribery and the unequal distribution of wealth.
China’s censors removed references to Hu’s removal from Congress from the Internet after the incident took place.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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