(Staff article from the BBC NEWS UK on 22 October 2022.)
There has been no official statement by the Chinese
government concerning the incident, but state news agency Xinhua said Mr Hu had
not been feeling well. After the week-long congress, the party is expected to
confirm Mr Xi, 69, for a historic third term.
The event, held in Beijing every five years, cemented his position as China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. Hu Jintao, who held the presidency between 2003 and 2013, was on stage when two officials approached him. He said something to Xi Jinping, who nodded back.
Then Mr Hu was
escorted out of the Great Hall of the People. The footage of Mr Hu being asked
to leave the stage is drawing global attention as people try to work out what
happened, says the BBC's China correspondent, Stephen McDonell.
He adds that so
far, there are a lot of questions and no answers from the Chinese government. Chinese
state news site Xinhua reported that Mr Hu had not been feeling well during the
session. It said his staff then accompanied him from the session to rest,
adding that he is "much better" now.
Earlier on
Saturday, the Central Committee of 205 senior party officials was elected.
Delegates rubber-stamped amendments to the party's constitution endorsing Mr
Xi's ideas as guiding principles for China's future.
In his opening
speech at the Congress last Sunday, he hailed the crushing of the pro-democracy
movement in Hong Kong as a move from "chaos to governance". He also
reaffirmed China's right to use force to seize the self-ruled island of Taiwan.
Mr Xi currently
combines the positions of general secretary of the Communist Party, president
and head of the armed forces. He is also referred to as Paramount or Supreme
leader. On Sunday he is expected to be officially confirmed for a third term as
general secretary and to unveil his new leadership team. In 2018, he abolished
the presidential two-term limit, paving the way for him to rule indefinitely.
The mysterious exit of China's former leader
Footage of
China's former leader, Hu Jintao, being asked to leave the stage at the Great
Hall of the People in Beijing during the Communist Party Congress is drawing
global attention as people try to work out what has just happened.
There are a lot
of questions and no answers so far from the Chinese government. Chinese state
news agency Xinhua reported that Mr Hu was escorted from the chamber after
feeling unwell.
But Mr Hu, 79, appeared reluctant to move. If that
is the case, why? What did he say to the man who replaced him, Xi Jinping,
which prompted a nod from China's current leader? And what did he say to his
protégé, Li Keqiang, as he tapped him on the shoulder before being ushered off
stage?
The two most
likely reasons for his departure are that it was either part of China's power
politics on full display, with a leader representing a former time being
symbolically removed, or that Hu Jintao has serious health problems.
It came at the
end of the Communist Party's week-long congress, which cemented Mr Xi's
position as China's most powerful leader since Mao Zedong. On the first day of
the congress, Mr Hu was only able to walk in with the assistance of an
official. On that day, he looked pretty frail. However, if he was led away at
the end because of ill-health, why did this happen so suddenly? Why in front of
the cameras? Was it an emergency?
A longer edit of
the footage taken on Saturday shows Xi Jinping turning to the former party
chairman and also, to Mr Hu's left, senior figures Li Zhanshu and Wang Huning
appearing concerned. Mr Li even moved to help him at one point, but was pulled
back by Mr Wang, as if to say, "Don't get involved in this."
After Hu Jintao stood up, he also reached out to
take Mr Xi's notes by mistake. At this stage, he appeared confused. China's
leader moved Mr Hu's hand away and took the notes back. The Communist Party's
mass meetings are normally highly scripted events, leading to speculation that
the timing of Hu Jintao's departure might not have been an accident.
He attended the
earlier closed-door session on the last day of the Congress, then cameras were
allowed in for the final portion of the day. It was just after the cameras had
set up that officials approached Mr Hu and indicated that he should go.
He ran a much
more collective leadership and had to balance various factions represented on
the Politburo Standing Committee. The Hu years - he held the presidency between
2003 and 2013 - were seen as a time of opening up to the outside world and
increased tolerance of new ideas.
The 2008 Beijing
Olympics was a peak for international exposure. Foreign companies were setting
up here, tourists were flooding in, the internet was more free, local media
outlets started doing decent journalism and China's global reputation was
constantly improving.
While some have referred to the Hu period as
"wasted", economic growth was consistently in double digits and
Beijing cared about its reputation elsewhere. Xi Jinping has taken the country
in a very different direction, with him at the "core" and unable to
be challenged.
The current
government has encouraged an explosion in nationalist sentiment, showing little
concern for what anyone else thinks about its handling of anything. Instead,
the message for other leaders has been that China's time has arrived and you
will mess with this nation at your own peril.
The message for
Chinese people can be seen in additions to the Party constitution, referring to
achievements made through "struggle". This has echoes of Mao Zedong's
time in office. As General Secretary, from the outset, Mr Xi took out all
opponents via an anti-corruption crackdown.
Now he has used
this year's Congress to clear out any last remnants of those who think there
should be different paths economically, socially and politically. If he
realised what was going on, one of the last things Mr Hu saw at this Congress
was the make-up of the new 205-person Central Committee. It does not include Li
Keqiang or Wang Yang, both seen as economic liberals, both linked to the ideas
of the former administration.
This points to a
new Politburo Standing Committee, stacked with Xi loyalists, guaranteeing the
continuity of a trajectory which is very different to the reform and opening up
in the era of Hu Jintao.
 |
| Hu Jintao's faction has been brutally eliminated. |
Xi Jinping Unveils Loyal Team and Cements Power for Life
Xi Jinping has
installed a new leadership team of fierce loyalists and eliminated any last
remaining remnants of political rivalry from the senior ranks of the Communist
Party, after securing a historic third term as China’s ruler.
Mr Xi, 69, declared “the world’s development needs
China” as he revealed his new-look leadership team on Sunday led by long-time
ally Li Qiang, who is expected to be elevated to the number two role as Premier
despite overseeing Shanghai’s disastrous COVID-19 lockdown.
In a dramatic
shake-up of his inner circle of advisers, Mr Xi sidelined politically moderate
candidates such as Hu Chunhua, who was the youngest of China’s four vice
premiers, in favour of fierce loyalists in their sixties who are unlikely to
emerge as potential successors.
Mr Xi also confirmed his reappointment as the General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party, the country’s top ruling body, for a third five-year term following a week-long meeting of a committee of 2300 hand-picked cadres which only takes place once every five years. Mr Xi is now the country’s longest serving leader since Mao Zedong after abolishing rules which previously limited leaders to two terms.
“Xi Jinping is
now the emperor, the most powerful person on earth. He is running the
second-largest economy in the world and second or third most powerful military
machinery, but only one person makes the rules. Nobody can oppose him,” Willy
Lam, adjunct professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong’s Centre for
China Studies, said. “We knew Xi Jinping would emerge as a victor but no one
expected the size of the victory.”
While Mr Xi’s
elevation as leader with no limitations on how long he can serve was expected,
there were some surprises in his new seven-man Politburo Standing Committee,
which is effectively his cabinet.
He removed a
potential candidate for Premier, Wang Yang, 67, from the Standing Committee. Hu
Chunhua, 59, was also demoted despite earlier being touted as a rising star and
a potential candidate for premier.
Both men had
ties with the Communist Youth League, a once-influential faction that is
believed to have now been effectively abolished. As previously announced,
Premier Li Keqiang, 67, who continued to support more liberal economic reforms,
is standing down from the role and appears to have no future role in political
life.
The other new members were Ding Xuexiang, 60, a
long-time Xi loyalist who has effectively been his chief of staff; Beijing
party chief Cai Qi, 66, who worked with Xi early in his career in the coastal
provinces of Fujian and Zhejiang; and Guangdong party boss Li Xi, 66, who will
also be the next head of China’s anti-corruption watchdog.
Two other
existing members of the Standing Committee, Wang Huning and Zhao Leji, retained
their positions. The new political appointments and their ranking were revealed
by the order they strode on to a podium at a media event in Beijing’s Great
Hall of the People. It followed the conclusion of China’s five-yearly National
Party Congress on Saturday where the removal of Mr Xi’s predecessor, Hu Jintao,
from the meeting raised eyebrows.
“We must remain
on high alert and remain prudent, like a student sitting for a never-ending
exam,” Mr Xi said in a speech to journalists. “China’s development can’t leave
the world and the world’s development also needs China.”
Mr Li, 63,
walked in directly behind China’s leader, which suggested he would be elevated
to the coveted number two position of premier when the country’s rubber stamp
parliament meets in March. Unlike previous appointments to that role, Mr Li has
never served as one of China’s four vice premiers.
Experts said the appointments confirmed Mr Xi was likely to continue to back away from more liberal economic reforms in favour of more state control over the economy. Tensions on the international stage, including China’s dealings with Australia, could also escalate.
“Today’s results
show a China that has moved into winner-takes-all politics,” Wen-Ti Sung, a
political scientist who teaches in the Australia National University’s Taiwan
Studies Program, said.
“Xi could have appointed at least one non-loyalist
to the Standing Committee, which would make him appear like a uniter who has
won over support from all factions. But he didn’t. Under this spirit of struggle, wolf warrior
diplomacy is here to stay, and value-based coalition building in US-China
rivalry will likely continue.”
China’s
five-yearly National Party Congress concluded on Saturday after 2300 delegates
voted to appoint Mr Xi for a third term, and approve the membership of the
Standing Committee as well as the two bodies that sit under that – the 25-man
politburo and the 200-person central committee.
The Congress
also approved changes to the party’s charter which further bolstered Mr Xi’s
authority, although his title was not changed to chairman of the Communist
Party, as some speculated, which would put him on an equal footing with Mao.
In a speech at
the opening of the congress a week earlier, Mr Xi emphasised potential security
threats over economic growth. Australia on Saturday signed a new defence declaration
with Japan due to rising concerns about China’s aggressive foreign policies,
which are now expected to continue.
