A rare drama was enacted October 22 just before the final votes of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th Party Congress which has left the world baffled. It has led to wide speculation on the seeming power struggle within the CCP. The motive of China’s most powerful man and President Xi Jinping in allowing the public display of what was supposed to be a closed door, secretive event is not yet clear. For, it was indeed a rare and stunning piece of live drama as former President Hu Jintao, who had ruled the country for two terms from 2002 to 2012, was publicly led away from the Party Congress by staff. Hu’s immediate reactions indicated he was himself confused and upset. He was seated in a prominent position next to Xi and the incident was caught on camera. He appeared to ask Xi and Premier Li Keqiang a question, to which they both nodded, while Xi prevented him from taking some papers by placing his hand on them. Such an action on the part of Xi itself is not only unusual, but it gives rise to suspicion about what had preceded the development. What strengthens the suspicion is that Li Zhanshu, another prominent party leader, got up to help Hu as he left, but he was tugged back down with a pull on his jacket by political theorist Wang Huning, seated next to him.
During his tenure as the party chief and President, Hu was never as powerful as Xi is now. In fact, he followed the pattern of collective leadership established in China since the end of the Mao Zedong era. But, corruption rose under his leadership. Party members under his rule were found to be making money through devious means.
Also Read
After he took over from Hu, Xi started tackling corruption with an iron hand and that has distinguished his tenure. He showed so much zeal in rooting out corruption that Hu virtually disappeared from the political arena and many of his former allies were arrested in the purges. The most notable of them was Hu’s chief aide Ling Jihua in 2015. Hu was associated with a power network of former leaders, like himself, of the Communist Youth League. Under Xi that faction appears to have been effectively neutralised.
The question is why the rather shabby treatment of Hu was sought to be shown to the world. China’s state news agency Xinhua carried the list of general assembly members in which Hu’s name appears, but no explanation has been given for the incident. No wonder any attempt to discuss it online is being heavily censored.
A possible explanation of the incident could be that Xi suddenly got information that Hu might abstain or worse still vote against him in the rounds of otherwise unanimous voting during the Party Congress. Hu’s remarks, while he was being moved out, to his former colleagues backstage suggested such a possibility. It may be noted that Hu has been opposing Xi’s policies for quite some time. This whole drama might have been orchestrated to show the world where stand the dissenters of Xi.
Xi might have deliberately sought to publicly humiliate his predecessor to send out a message across the old guard that any resistance to his leadership in any form would be summarily dealt with like the unceremonious removal of Hu at the most important event of the party.
Analysts wonder whether there was any need for such a show since Xi’s authority is unquestionable. It was a foregone conclusion that he would create history October 23 by becoming the first leader of the Chinese Communist Party after party founder Mao Zedong to get re-elected for an unprecedented third term in power. Perhaps, Xi wanted to tell his people and the world how tough and ruthless he can be in dealing with his adversaries.
