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Hu Jintao addresses Xi Jinping: Led away from the podium
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MARK R. CRISTINO / EPA
At the end of the Chinese Communist Party Congress on Saturday, there was an incident involving former party leader Hu Jintao.
The 79-year-old was led off the podium by two room stewards, apparently against his will, next to head of state and party leader Xi Jinping, as can be seen on video recordings.
During the closing session, international cameramen and journalists had just been let into the grandstand in the Great Hall of the People.
amendment of the constitution
The frail-looking Hu Jintao is not necessarily seen as a supporter of the current party leader.
He belongs to the Communist Youth League camp in the party, which was weakened by Xi Jinping.
The former president handed over the post of secretary-general to Xi Jinping in 2012 after two terms.
Hu Jintao stands for the old "collective" leadership model with representatives from different factions and with age and term limits, which the 69-year-old Xi Jinping wants to overturn with his third term.
Hu Jintao was ousted from his seat shortly before the constitutional amendment votes.
The constitutional amendment will further cement Xi Jinping's guiding principles and leadership.
Prime Minister no longer on the Standing Committee
During Saturday, the congress should elect the party's Central Committee, which will appoint the Politburo's Standing Committee on Sunday.
However, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang will no longer be part of the country's future leadership team.
He is missing from the list of names of the members of the new Central Committee.
As a result, he can no longer belong to the supreme body of power, the Standing Committee of the Politburo.
The 67-year-old had already announced at the annual meeting of the People's Congress in March that after two terms in office he no longer wanted to run as prime minister.
However, there had been speculation that Li Keqiang might become head of parliament, effectively making him number two after state and party leader Xi Jinping.
However, there are persistent rumors about differences between the two, which also come from different camps in the party.
The current head of parliament, Li Zhanshu, is also stepping down from the leadership.
The 72-year-old can no longer be found in the new Central Committee.
Now Xi Jinping is expected to receive a third five-year term as CCP general secretary.
This would strengthen the 69-year-old's position as the most powerful head of state since Mao Zedong.
Mao was a co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party and proclaimed the People's Republic of China in 1949.
ptz/dpa/Reuters/AP