During the closing ceremonies of the 20th CCP party congress, Hu Jintao was taken from his seat and removed from the premises. Recently rumors circulated that Xi Jinping had been arrested, and Hu Jintao and others had moved to align China more closely to the West. While it is unclear what happened, it is quite obvious that something did happen that Xi has found advisable to publicly humiliate Hu Jintao to resolve.
IMG source - Foreignpolicy.com
Chatter on international fora suggests that Hu's stewardship of Chinese financial policies, resulting in China's present economic extremity and runs on it's banks since April 2022, has weakened Hu's position sufficiently for Xi's purge.
"...I think this is a motivational action for Li Keqiang.
"It seems to me that Xi purposely chose as a victim the old, no longer decisive, Hu Jintao, a certain honorable elder of the liberal clan, so that the current leaders of this clan, such as Li Keqiang, on the contrary, will save face.
"...this action is not aimed at showing everyone that Xi is great and powerful. This action is part of some kind of negotiation aimed at getting the negotiations to end on terms more acceptable to Xi.
"Why weed out all the liberals when you can subjugate them and negotiate on some terms, putting down only their old aksakal, who is no longer in power."
--Anonymous
What may come of this purge remains to be seen. As is obvious from the look on Xi's face as Hu is led away, Xi is reveling in securing his power.
"...we just witnessed Xi deliberately and publicly humiliate his predecessor...an extraordinary move...that rammed home the message of Xi’s absolute power...a move of deep cruelty, done with...relish...after all, Hu could simply have been detained or put under house arrest in private, with his health as an easy excuse."
Clearly, Xi's power has been threatened, and he is desperately displaying his power in public to prevent being purged himself. It's hard to miss his exultation at his victory, or the threat to his loved ones Hu's meek resignation and compliance reveals.
It's even harder to avoid concluding that China is collapsing when the cracks in the facade are so visible. Rather than absolute power, Xi exposes his weakness, and China's, by needing to so dramatically demonstrate his power. I am reminded of the Nouveau Riche gold plating Lamborghinis while old money requires no such garish display.
Desperate times call for desperate measures.