Hu Jintao, 79, China’s former leader and Xi Jinping’s direct predecessor, has appeared in public for the first time since his puzzling departure from the Chinese Communist Party Congress in October, casting doubt on his health and, in particular, on his status at the top of the regime.
Footage broadcast this Tuesday (6th) by the state-owned CCTV show the former leader at the ceremony held in Beijing in honor of Jiang Zemin, also a former Chinese leader, who died last week at the age of 96.
Hu stood beside Xi and bowed three times before Jiang’s coffin. Afterwards, he was seen walking with some difficulty around the funeral urn.
Hu’s appearance, to some extent, undermines rumors that he has been sidelined by the CCP’s top brass. This version circulated as a result of the images of the last day of the congress of the party, which showed the former leader being removed, apparently against his will, from the traditionally meticulous ceremony.
He was sitting to Xi’s left when he was escorted out of the main auditorium of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing by two security guards. Video from the AFP news agency shows one of them trying to lift Hu from his chair, drawing glares from surrounding officials.
Hu resists leaving the scene as aides try to escort him. At one point, he tries to pick up documents that appear to belong to Xi, who is holding the folder with the papers. Hu still tries to sit down again, without success, and, on the way out, exchanges words with Xi and touches the shoulder of the current premier, Li Keqiang.
Despite having attended the ceremony on Monday (5), Hu was one of the notable absences from the funeral itself on Tuesday. According to the South China Morning Post, a source linked to the Chinese Communist Party said that he and other elders of the party did not attend because they would not be able to stay on their feet for a long time due to their advanced age.
On Tuesday, Xi paid tribute to Zemin for ensuring the Communist Party’s survival in the face of what he called “political storms”. The official also celebrated the former leader for having been able to reform the party and inject new vitality and modernize the Chinese economy. In his lapel he wore a white chrysanthemum, a traditional symbol of mourning in China.
“In the late 1980s and early 1990s, serious political storms raged at home and abroad, and world socialism experienced serious complications,” Xi said. “He had the extraordinary courage to make bold decisions and the great courage to carry out theoretical innovations at critical moments,” he added, in indirect reference to the wave of pro-democracy protests that culminated in the Tiananmen Square Massacre in 1989, which took place under Jiang’s management.
For three minutes, sirens designed to warn of air strikes sounded across the country at 10 am local time in memory of the former leader.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
