Hu Jintao, China's former president, was forcibly removed from the "Great Hall of People" in Beijing at the Communist Party's closing ceremony for their congress on Saturday.
Hu, Xi Jinping's 79-year-old predecessor, was sat to Xi's left. According to an eyewitness, two stewards escorted him off the stage and out of the main auditorium of Beijing's Great Hall of the People during the congress.
The steward's persistent attempts to pull Hu from his seat were seen on camera by AFP, prompting anxious glances from authorities in the next seats. Hu reached out and touched a piece of paper resting on Xi's folder, but Xi hastily covered his hand with his own.
Upon Hu's last rise, the senior legislator in China, Li Zhanshu, handed the former president's folder to a butler and wiped his own head with a cloth.
Hu, who seemed upset, resisted leaving as the stewards led him out of the building. He even turned back to his seat at one point. His departure was preceded by a brief conversation with President Xi and a shoulder pat from Premier Li Keqiang, who was sitting on Xi's right.
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Video of the incident, which was extensively posted on Twitter but was unavailable on China's strictly regulated social media platforms due to the thorough stage management of most such events, was widely reported.
A small number of social media users on Weibo, China's equivalent to Twitter, made references to the event by commenting on archived postings that included Hu.
Almost all Weibo postings that included Hu's name had their comment sections hidden by Saturday evening, as reported by Reuters.
The episode, which happened as journalists were entering the hall, was not covered by state media outlets covering the ceremony.
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Last Sunday, during the opening ceremony of the congress, Hu needed assistance getting onto the same stage.
The party's constitution was amended at the conclusion of the every-five-years congress, solidifying Xi's position as the party's de facto leader and legitimising his political philosophy as the party's guiding principle.
(With inputs from Reuters)
