Chinese former president Hu Jintao was unexpectedly escorted out of the closing ceremony of a congress of the ruling Communist Party on Saturday, Oct 22, 2022. (Reuters filepix by Tingshu Wang)

SHANGHAI (Dec 6): Former Chinese President Hu Jintao returned to the public eye for the first time since his mysterious exit from the closing ceremony of the Communist Party’s congress six weeks ago.

Hu attended a tribute for Jiang Zemin at Chinese PLA General Hospital in Beijing on Monday morning, accompanied by an attendant, according to China Central Television. The 79-year-old ex-president can be seen walking unsteadily at the event, which was held to remember Jiang before his body was cremated.

Hu didn’t appear to be at a memorial service on Tuesday, when Chinese President Xi Jinping gave a eulogy that ran nearly an hour.

On Oct 22, Hu was escorted away from his seat next to Xi halfway through the closely choreographed closing ceremony of the twice-a-decade congress. He looked confused as he was led away by an attendant, sparking intense speculation over what happened to him.

The official Xinhua News Agency said in a tweet hours later that Hu felt unwell and needed to rest, but that, “Now, he is much better”.

Still, many wondered whether Xi had used the moment to signal that there were no more obstacles to his authority in leading the world’s No. 2 economy. Xi secured a precedent-defying third term in power at the congress, where he packed the party’s top decision-making bodies with allies.

“Hu’s presence at official ceremonies honouring Jiang shows Xi trying to create an image of unity that bolsters his position as leader,” said Neil Thomas, a China analyst at Eurasia Group, a political risk advisory and consulting firm.

“Hu’s reappearance lends somewhat more credence to the theory that his ejection from the party congress was not an orchestrated purge but rather an unplanned event that resulted from some kind of health incident,” Thomas said, adding that the government still hasn’t provided enough information about the incident at the congress to be certain what happened.