Why Was Hu Jintao Escorted Off Stage At 20th Party Congress? Rumors Swirl After Video Goes Viral

After the incident during the Chinese Communist Party Congress where former Chinese President Hu Jintao was suddenly guided out of the room with cameras at bay, many rumors are swirling on Monday regarding the action as concrete information on the explanation remains scant.

During the Communist Party Congress where Chinese President Xi Jinping secured an unprecedented third term at the presidency, former President Hu was escorted out of the room in apparent confusion, being seen as tapping protege Li Keqiang and speaking to Xi before being ushered off the room, according to BBC.

The Congress meetings, which usually happen twice a decade, are normally highly-scripted with very little diversion to the plan. The sudden ushering out of Hu, left unexplained during the event, has caused a stir across the world as many attempt to decode the possible message being sent by the party by the action, ABC News reported.

State controlled media Xinhua News Agency claimed later on that Hu was unwell during the Congress and was escorted out due to his health. He had been only able to walk on the first day with the help of an assistant, and some are speculating that the situation had been an emergency that happened during the Congress.

Despite this explanation, many are speculating that Hu’s removal from Congress was a statement from Xi to the party regarding his control and power within China, especially as the former President represents the continued opening up of China to other countries in the world.

Backing up this speculation is the fact that Hu’s protege Premier Li Keqiang was removed from his position on Saturday, alongside two other appointees of Hu, with all three expected to undergo retirement after being removed from their positions.

The new Politburo Standing Committee, part of the 205-person Central Committee, is reportedly stacked with Xi loyalists after the Congress, which have a more nationalist stance in social and economic policies versus the more economically-liberal ideals that Hu’s administration represented.

Neither representative of Hu nor Xi or any member of the Chinese Communist Party has made an official statement regarding the incident.