Former Chinese President Hu Jintao was "not well" when he unexpectedly left the closing ceremony of the Communist Party Congress on Saturday, state media reported.
"Hu Jintao insisted on attending the closing ceremony...even though he needed time to finally recover," the new China News Agency said via Twitter this evening. "When he felt unwell during the session, his team escorted him to an adjacent hall to rest. He is much better. right Now".
Hours ago, social media and the media were buzzing with a video clip showing former Chinese President Hu Jintao being taken away by an unfamiliar person, sparking speculation about the reasons that Beijing did not explain at the time or the official media.
Employees - according to what appeared in the video clip broadcast by international news agencies - asked Hu Jintao, who presided over China from 2003 to 2013 and is a reformer, to get up from his seat next to President Xi Jinping's seat in the first row in the hall of the People's Palace.
An employee tried to take the 79-year-old former president by the arm, but was refused.
The employee tried to lift him from his seat, but the former president insisted on resisting.
Hu Jintao tried to take with him documents that were on his table, apparently belonging to the president, but Xi Jinping stuck to them, according to what appeared in the video as well.
After a minute's conversation between the employee, Hu Jintao, the former president was persuaded to leave, apparently against his will.
The clerk escorted him holding his arm to the exit, leaving a vacant seat near Xi Jinping.
There was no immediate official explanation, while the Chinese authorities did not respond to questions from the French Press Agency in this regard, according to what I reported.
Hu Jintao caught the eye at the opening of the conference last Sunday by appearing with signs of aging and his hair completely white.
The facts took place shortly after journalists entered the People's Palace in Beijing to cover the closing ceremonies of the CPC Congress, but before the unanimous vote by about 2,300 CPC delegates to include the "central role" of Xi Jinping in the party charter.
Xi, 69, is supposed to get a third term as party secretary general on Sunday, which will guarantee him a third term in March next year.
Xi Jinping assumed leadership of China, gradually becoming the most powerful leader since the founder of the regime, Mao Zedong (1949-1976).
Showing great firmness against all forms of dissent, Xi also led a massive anti-corruption campaign that enabled him to weed out his rivals.