On the day of the conclusion of the party congress in China, the focus is primarily on the former party leader and President Hu Jintao. Rare images from the Great Hall of the People show that he was taken away for unknown reasons. Before the final votes and party leader Xi Jinping’s closing speech, he seemed forced to leave the hall.

The images, filmed by the AFP news agency, among others, show how a guard tried several times to yank Hu Jintao out of his chair. The 79-year-old ex-party leader does not seem to want to cooperate at first. Once on top, Hu seems determined to sit down again, after which he is staggered away.

Hu says something about his successor Xi Jinping, who can begin his third term tomorrow. Outgoing Premier Li Keqiang, who no longer plays a role in the new Standing Committee, gets a slap on the shoulder from Hu. However, not much is known about the reasons for his seemingly involuntary departure from the Great Hall.

The state propaganda channel CGTN, which runs live all morning with a “special report” on the 20th party congress, is completely silent. “We’re taking you to the Great Hall of the People for the closing ceremony,” calls one of the two presenters at the beginning of the show, but the director doesn’t switch to China’s most important political event today.

That will happen afterwards. But even in the “delegates corridor,” where congress delegates are allowed to answer preselected questions from state media with speeches about the achievements of ten years of Xi Jinping, the most notable incident of this congress is not brought into focus. Nothing about Hu can be found on the heavily censored social media either.

Outside of China, the rumor mill is now in full swing. Was Hu, who has been unwell for a long time, in danger of falling ill, or is there more to it? If he thought he could still sit, why did he have to be removed? A show of force by Xi, who will begin his third term tomorrow, was rumored to be a possible reason. But the question is what Xi would get out of it. Hu’s role has been over for a while.

Possible rejection

Wilder speculation is that Hu is actively opposing Xi’s course. Shortly before the incident, a new central committee was voted on behind closed doors. Several members of the Hu faction, the faction of the Communist Youth League, were retired. In addition to Li Keqiang, it also affects Deputy Premier Wang Yang.

In any case, the fact that the incident took place after a handful of foreign journalists were ushered onto the balcony of the Great Hall of the People (just after that vote) fuels speculation that they wanted to show it. Why remains a guess.

In fact, things are even more opaque under Xi Jinping than before. For example, it was not at all clear when the closing ceremony would take place, agendas and work reports were consistently shared late, if at all. The only remaining grip of maintaining the agenda of previous party congresses no longer offers guarantees in the Xi Jinping era.

According to the authorities, the number of journalists was reduced this time as a “preventive epidemic measure”. From opening to closing, the moment tomorrow China’s six most powerful men step out from behind the curtain alongside Xi, it was a moment to get a glimpse of the Party’s manners. Xi Jinping himself decides who is invited to this party.

Dutch media not wanted

Dutch media, including NOS, were not among the chosen ones this year for unclear reasons. The ability to make online interview requests to delegations and individual delegates, an innovation, was unsuccessful. None of the requests were considered. Whoever entered Xi Jinping’s name into the system saw the characters disappear just as quickly.

This week’s press accreditation only allowed access to the media center, miles away from where it was supposed to take place. State media and journalists flown in from friendly countries were allowed to ask pre-arranged questions over a screen in strictly controlled press conferences. The journalists, who came from Syria, Costa Rica and various African countries, among others, had to give the congress a foreign touch.

The media center was quarantined just days before the graduation ceremony. The authorities don’t seem to care that access to the theater in the Great Hall of the People has become even more complicated. Speculations about the incident involving China’s former leader continue. The only certainty on the final day of this convention is that there is currently no one standing in Xi’s way.

Who is Xi, how did he become so powerful and what does he want with China? You can see it in this video: