[imagesource: EPA]

Saturday’s closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress, which is typically a highly choreographed event where everything goes precisely to plan, appeared to veer off script for a moment.

79-year-old former Chinese leader Hu Jintao, who was sat next to current leader Xi Jinping, was unexpectedly escorted off stage in what many have said is yet another example of Xi flexing his political muscle.

Those present inside Beijing’s Great Hall of the People watched on awkwardly as Hu was helped out of his seat, reports Fortune:

The incident saw Xi turning toward Hu as he prepared to leave. Li Zhanshu, chair of the national legislature’s Standing Committee — who was sitting on Hu’s other side — tried to physically assist the former leader, until party secretariat chief Wang Huning gestured for him to stand down…

Image: Tingshu Wang / Reuters

The official Xinhua News agency reported that Hu had “insisted” on attending the session even though he had been recuperating recently, according to its official Twitter account. His staff accompanied him to a separate room to rest after he felt unwell during the session and Hu is “much better” now, Xinhua said.

It remains unclear what Hu said to Xi as he was escorted out but the current leader nodded before turning his head and staring straight ahead.

Claims of ill health may well be masking the real reason – Xi wanted to flex his power on a public stage:

Early drama: Hu Jintao seen being led out soon after reporters are led into the main hall pic.twitter.com/pRffGZF60I

— Danson Cheong (@dansoncj) October 22, 2022

Xi has cast aside retirement rules and slowly but surely eliminated key rivals and strengthened his political power to secure a precedent-breaking third term as leader.

Any dissent has been shut down on the social media site Weibo and CNN was censored on air in China when reporting on Hu’s exit from Saturday’s meeting.

There are ways around censure on Weibo but one has to be a little crafty.

[source:fortune]