The apparent and unexpected public purge of former President Hu Jintao, the immediate predecessor of the current Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, today convulsed the closing of the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of China (PCCh), in which Xi cemented his already enormous power by perpetuating himself for another five years. in front of the Asian giant.

What happened to Hu, 79, has overshadowed today’s election of the new Central Committee, from which the Politburo and the new Standing Committee of the PCCh will emerge, the highest echelon of Chinese power, whose composition will be known tomorrow after innumerable pools that try to venture who will accompany Xi at the top during the next five years.

Hu, with a pale face, was escorted out of the plenary hall of the Great Hall of the People seconds after the press entered the chamber, EFE witnessed.

The cameras had free rein to capture how a beadle approached him to force him out of the hemicycle before the stunned faces of Li Zhangshu and Wang Huning, the current numbers three and five of the Party.

Although Hu resisted while they pulled him, as can be seen on his jacket, he ends up leaving after questioning Xi, who kept looking straight ahead oblivious to what was happening a few centimeters from his back.

However, some observers have not interpreted what happened as a purge, but as a possible physical discomfort that would have caused Xi’s predecessor in office to leave the room.

A televised purge without accusations involved would be something unusual in the current CCP, but other experts are convinced that the event has staged the live lamination of this faction, which experts have defined as more liberal, pragmatic and politically oriented. to the market.

In addition, it is already known that the new Central Committee, the group of 205 members (plus alternates) that heads the regime, does not include those closest to Hu, such as the current prime minister, Li Keqiang, or Wang Yang, deputy prime minister. , who will retire from political life at the age of 67.

In fact, when he was leaving the room and passing behind the first row where the leadership leadership was sitting, Hu touched Li on the shoulder, in a gesture that some interpreted as solidarity for the loss of influence in the formation. .

It now remains to be seen whether Hu Chunghua, nicknamed “little Hu” because of his closeness to the former president, has a chance of joining the CPC Standing Committee, although everything seems to indicate that its members will all be very close allies to Xi.

PURGE OF THE NETWORKS

Hu has even been purged from Chinese social media, and the most recent post in which the former president’s name can be found dates from October 18, in which an account quotes the politician’s words on economic development.

If the PCCh wanted to show an image of unity, it does not seem to have succeeded according to what happened today, to which must be added the last darts that Xi threw at his predecessor: “There was a lack of clear understanding within the party, a lack of effective and a tendency to weakness. Bureaucracy, hedonism and extravagance persisted in many places and departments,” he said in the opening speech of the conclave.

Xi also said that “shocking cases of corruption were found,” that “growth was not balanced, sustainable, or coordinated,” and that some people “didn’t even have faith in the socialist system.”

TOMORROW, THE STANDING COMMITTEE

In any case, the 69-year-old Xi will secure his absolute control over the CCP for at least the next five years.

Another sign of accumulated power is the inclusion in the PCCh statutes of an amendment that updates and expands the political theory of the Chinese president, urging the militancy to “deeply understand” the “decisive” meaning of its position as “core of the Party”. and to “apply it in all aspects.”

The expectation now revolves around who will accompany the president during the next five years, and if any potential dolphin will appear in the new dome.

The new members of the almighty Standing Committee (7 or 9 people) will be presented to society tomorrow, Sunday, in another side event after a week of meetings behind closed doors in an armored Beijing and under strong restrictions for journalists due to the draconian measures against the covid

It is known that the CCP’s 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th so far, Li Keqiang, Li Zhanshu, Wang Yang and Han Zheng, are no longer on the newly appointed Central Committee, bringing at least four new faces to the dome of power

The head of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi, does appear in the Central Committee, who could replace Yang Jiechi at the head of the Office of the PCCh Foreign Commission.

On the sidelines, the delegates also elected today a new Central Commission for Inspection and Discipline, which in the past five years investigated 4.65 million cases of corruption.