The reason China’s former president Hu Jintao was whisked away from the stage at a key Communist party meeting in Beijing was because he was arguing about official papers, new footage released by Singapore-based Channel News Asia showed.
The incident that took place on Saturday shocked everyone around the world in the manner in which a former state leader was abruptly escorted off from the main event presided over by China’s current President Xi Jinping.
It led many to speculate that it was deliberately done at the behest of Xi to show that the more consensus-driven Hu era was over, whereas others believed that it could have happened because of Hu’s poor health.
Xinhua news agency later tweeted that Hu was escorted as he was feeling unwell, but it did not report that domestically.
The new video released by the CNA starts moments before the 79-year-old leader is escorted out of the event.
It shows Hu trying repeatedly to read a set of documents that are covered by a red sheet.
Also read | Watch: Former Chinese president Hu Jintao abruptly escorted out of Communist Party Congress
Politburo Standing Committee member Li Zhanshu, who sitting beside the former president, then intervenes and seems to suggest to Hu that the documents need to be covered as the proceeding is being recorded with TV cameras and photographers.
At this moment, Xi, who was monitoring the whole situation, gestures to another man standing there, who then tried to persuade Hu to leave and at one point attempts to physically lift him up from his chair.
The former president then leaves his chair with some help from the party aide, and while on his way out he is seen trying to speak with the Chinese president.
(With inputs from agencies)
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