Former Chinese President Hu Jintao made his first public appearance this week since his premature removal from the hall where the Communist Party Congress was held in October, AFP reports.

Former President Hu Jintao was removed from the hall at the Congress of the Communist Party of ChinaPhoto: Noel Celis/AFP/Profimedia

Footage broadcast by state broadcaster CCTV showed Hu Jintao attending a ceremony at the Beijing Army General Hospital on Monday to pay his respects to former president Jiang Zemin, just before his cremation.

Hu Jintao stood with President Xi Jinping and his aide stood by as the leaders paid three obeisances to Jiang Zemin’s remains.

He then appears to walk unsteadily with the help of the same aide, while party officials walk around Jiang Zemin’s lifeless body and speak to the former leader’s widow.

Hu Jintao was expelled from the Communist Party Congress

In October, 79-year-old Hu Jintao looked old and tired at the Communist Party Congress.

On the last day, in front of the cameras, he was escorted out of the main hall of the People’s Palace, where the closing ceremony of the congress took place.

The incident disrupted the perfectly planned sequence paving the way for a third term for Xi Jinping.

State media later claimed that he was unwell, but his apparent displeasure when he was led out led to speculation about possible political reasons for his departure.

Xi Jinping’s message to his opponents?

In particular, some interpreted the incident as a clear political message from Xi Jinping to those who would oppose his third term.

In his opening speech at the congress, Xi Jinping said he had tackled huge problems plaguing China and the party, which he said had been inherited from his predecessors, including Hu Jintao, such as corruption and the unequal distribution of wealth.

And Hu Chunhua, a protégé of Hu Jintao, whose name was floated to join the Standing Committee of the Party’s Politburo, the pinnacle of power in China, was ultimately not selected.

The new standing committee now consists only of supporters and allies of Xi Jinping.

All mentions of Hu Jintao’s sudden departure from the congress very soon after the incident were removed from the Internet.