China’s former top leader Hu Jintao was unexpectedly led out of the closing ceremony of a key Communist Party meeting in Beijing with no explanation, stirring questions in a usually highly choreographed event.
The visibly frail 79-year-old was sitting on the left side of his immediate successor Xi Jinping in the front row when a staff member approached him, according to clips from the 20th Party Congress on Oct. 22.
Hu’s reluctance to leave was apparent.
The staff member, wearing a dark suit and a surgical mask, first took Hu’s glasses. With Xi watching, he put both his hands under Hu’s armpits and attempted to lift Hu from his seat….