Former President Hu Jintao is reluctantly led out of the 20th Party Congress closing ceremony by stewards
Former Chinese president Hu Jintao was unexpectedly led out of Saturday's (Oct 22) closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress in a dramatic moment that disrupted the highly choreographed event.
Hu's departure was left unexplained, although state media later said Hu was "not feeling well" when he was escorted out.
China censors appeared to quickly scrub any recent references to him from the Internet.
The frail-looking 79-year-old seemed reluctant to leave the front row of proceedings at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, where he was sitting next to President Xi Jinping.
A steward attempted to take a sitting Hu by the arm before being shaken off. The steward then attempted to lift Hu up with both hands from under the armpits.
After an exchange of about a minute, in which Hu spoke briefly with Xi and Premier Li Keqiang, he was led out of the hall.
A seated Xi was filmed holding papers down on the desk as Hu tried to grab them.
The week-long Congress occurred mostly behind closed doors, but Hu's departure occurred shortly after journalists were allowed in to cover the closing ceremony.
AFP did not receive any response to a request for an explanation from Chinese authorities.
"Xinhuanet reporter Liu Jiawen has learned that Hu Jintao insisted on attending the closing session ... despite the fact that he has been taking time to recuperate recently," Xinhua said on Twitter.
"When he was not feeling well during the session, his staff, for his health, accompanied him to a room next to the meeting venue for a rest. Now, he is much better."
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