It may have been unscripted. But it was probably inevitable.
Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao was pulled from his chair at the Communist Party’s most significant event in decades. That move now defines Xi Jinping’s crowning moment: nobody stands in his way.
It was the final day of the Chinese Communist Party’s 20th National Congress.
It was in the Great Hall of the People on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.
It was moments after a secretive meeting cemented the party’s leadership for the next five years.
Thousands of delegates had gathered. Live broadcast streams were firing up to flash the carefully orchestrated spectacle around the globe.
But even as the news feeds powered up, something strange happened.
Hu, the CCP’s general secretary between 2002 and 2012, had taken his rightful place of honour at the left hand of Chairman Xi. After all, he held Xi’s job before respectfully handing over power in 2012.
Then two staff members approached, spoke with him, debated with him, then surreptitiously manhandled him out of his chair.
Hu was then, reluctantly, led away.
It was shocking to those watching the international feeds as they came online.
Was Hu sick? Was it a purge? Was it a signal to the world?
Since then, all mention of the former leader has been blocked on Chinese social media.
Only two official government news agency tweets have mentioned the incident. And Twitter is banned within China itself.
Xinhua said Hu “insisted on attending the closing session … despite the fact that he has been taking time to recuperate recently. When he was not feeling well during the session, his staff, for his health, accompanied him to a room next to the meeting venue for a rest. Now, he is much better.”
Few believe it.
Hu led the last remaining faction daring to oppose Xi’s absolute rule. And that faction had just been evicted from Beijing’s halls of power.
Unpacking the event
Footage of Hu’s humiliation was not disseminated within China. There were no reports on the incident on Xinhua, Weibo, WeChat or in the People’s Daily.
On Monday, China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed international media questions as irrelevant. It didn’t record the questions on its official transcripts.
But international analysts have been keen to understand what is a significant – and sensitive – political incident.
Singapore news channel CNA had captured footage of the moments leading up to Hu’s removal. It offers context, but not understanding.
The moment was set to be momentous.
Behind closed doors just minutes before, Communist Party rules had been cast aside to allow Xi a third term in office. Now he was set to publicly pronounce the names of those who would rule alongside him on the Politburo Standing Committee.
With Xi to Hu’s right, Li Zhanshu – an outgoing member of the Standing Committee – is sitting to his left.
Li reaches over to take a set of papers from the former leader’s hands. He stacks it neatly before putting it back down on the table. He then leans over to speak to 79-year-old Hu.
This happened as international media was allowed to move into the Great Hall to observe proceedings.
Xi appears to impassively watch the exchange before turning away. Outgoing Premier Li Keqiang, sitting to Xi’s right, stares rigidly forward the whole time.
A staff member moves up behind the former leader and grips his chair. Xi waves at the document folders arranged on the table before him as he details what he wants.
The staffer then moves to pick up Hu’s documents and speaks with Li.
Then the staff member tries to lift Hu out of his chair. Hu resists.
A Party official then moves up to help the staffer. Hu stands, but attempts to sit once again. He reaches for the documents in the staffer’s hands.
Eventually, Hu concedes defeat. He reluctantly allows himself to be led away.
But, as he goes, he pauses to say something to Xi. Xi nods and makes a short reply.
Hu then pats outgoing Premier Li’s shoulder. As he is manhandled off the stage, assembled Communist Party officials sit staring forward with stony faces.
Loyalty trumps competence
The Politburo Standing Committee selected at the 20th Party Congress will set and enact policy for the next five years.
It’s supposed to be a representative body of all China’s factions and governing institutions.
It’s now Xi Jinping’s personal power base.
The autocratic leader has stacked the seven-man body with loyal technocrats. He waived the age rule for himself. He expelled others who had yet to serve out their full terms.
It represents the overturning of China’s carefully institutionalised system of power.
Hu Jintao peacefully surrendered power in 2012 after reaching the mandatory retirement age. It was only the second time such a peaceful translation of power had taken place.
Before Jiang Zemin stepped down in favour of Hu in 2002, no leader had left office without dying or being deposed.
When Hu stepped aside for Xi, the editor of the state-run Global Times news service declared on Weibo: “This is the institutionalisation of the transfer of power. Bless China”.
“In the past, social countries were never able to properly resolve transfers of power. Leaders often served until death, leaving the country in turmoil,” Hu Xijin explained in 2012.
“The CCP has successfully solved this issue and achieved consecutive smooth transfers of power,” he said, adding that the process would guarantee “China’s long-term stability and policy continuity”.
“It deserves high praise.”
Hu Xijin has since been forced to step down from his prominent position. But he remains an influential columnist. He’s also changed his tone.
“China will be more united and stable in the next five years,” he tweeted.
“The entire country’s development and progress will be realised on a more solid political foundation. I am sure that a stronger country and a better life await all Chinese people at the end of this five-year period.”
Last week, he blocked all access to his social media comments older than six months.
His old news service, the Global Times, also erased an old 2012 editorial.
“Comrade Hu Jintao’s retirement from all leadership positions was a demonstration of exemplary conduct and noble character. It proves China’s progressive reforms are indeed entering a new stage, winning high admiration and revitalising social confidence in the past two days,” it read.
Beyond Big Brother
Last week, Chairman Xi extended his rule beyond the 10-year limit. He sidelined his opponents. He stacked all leadership positions with loyal followers.
The 69-year-old strongman did not, however, anoint a successor.
That may secure his grip on power, but analysts say it puts China’s political stability at risk.
“History shows very clearly that the problem of succession creates political instability,” says Denmark’s Aarhus University political analyst Jorgen Moller.
“Back in 2002, it was the first orderly transfer of power since 1949,” he said.
“There was a logic to it, right? There was the retirement rules, seniority.”
It’s a situation not lost on the Chinese public.
It’s just that the consequences are severe if they dare voice it.
A one-person protest on Beijing’s Sitong Bridge caught the world’s attention as the 20th National Congress began to sit earlier this month. An activist strung out two banners challenging “dictator Xi Jinping”.
The Communist Party went so far as to censor “Beijing” from internal social media services to suppress news of the event spreading. The lone perpetrator was quickly arrested.
But, like the lone man standing in front of a column of tanks in 1989 in Tiananmen Square, it was an act that inspired passive resistance.
It isn’t easy under a surveillance state.
Man, 25, charged with attempted kidnapping. Police said he scaled a wall at mayor's home.