Friday, November 4, 2022

Hu Jintao Forcefully Removed from Party Congress

                     (Staff article from the BBC NEWS UK on 22 October 2022.)

Hu Jintao the ex-president escorted out of China party congress: Chinese former leader Hu Jintao has been led out of the closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress. The frail-looking 79-year-old was sitting beside President Xi Jinping when he was escorted away by officials.

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.

That said, the party doesn't normally air its dirty laundry in public. If this was a deliberate show, it would mark a departure from usual behaviour. What is pushing this along is that Hu Jintao represents a very different model for China from that of Xi Jinping.

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.