WTF just happened to Grandpa Hu?

[Balthazar]

On 10/24/2022 at 4:51 PM, vellocet said:

Lishui is a literal backwater and I can't imagine it's on the road to a powerful future anywhere

 

I don't think anyone is suggesting it necessarily is (unless you read Bishop's "polticial problems" as "not ending up in a much more powerful seat"). Had to google Lishui btw. Lots of timber it seems!

 

In any case, perhaps we will know what really went down and perhaps we never will. I take a similar position as @realmayo

 

for now, that this was some sort of a public humiliation show (againat someone who's faction has allegedly been broken for years) seems too Netflix-y and really unlike the Xi playbook.

[Guest realmayo]

On 10/24/2022 at 9:17 AM, realmayo said:

I think the guessing game would be easier if we knew why his red booklet was, at the time the cameras started to roll, already not in front of him.

There's slightly earlier footage available on youtube that shows him opening and trying to read the contents of his red folder, and Li next to him trying to stop him doing so. Doesn't clear anything up! Because it could easily be a sign that he's really confused with what's going on and now isn't the time to be opening it. But then, some others seem to have opened theirs already. So it could also support the theory that until now the contents of the folder (the leadership line-up) have until now been kept hidden from Hu.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBG2bD-TE9g

 

Thanks to @Balthazar's link I learned the word 听床师: a satirical term popular in the Chinese Internet community, usually referring to some people who claim to have mastered the position changes and factions of the leaders of the Communist Party of China when they are concerned about the change of leaders of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. 

 

On 10/24/2022 at 11:57 PM, Brian US said:

Anyone have thoughts or sources on what he said to Xi before leaving?

 

Perhaps this? https://chinaheritage.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/C5CA4DD0-F3F9-41BD-A83A-92BA4C19B32E.jpeg

[roddy]

There's some more 'before' footage here, although not entirely sure it sheds much light.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-63384608

Edit: sorry, that might be what realmayo posted - didn't realise we'd rolled over to a second page.

[Lu]

I wonder if someone proficiant at lipreading (@Meng Lelan?) could see what Li Zhanshu discusses with Hu, and what Xi's instructions were before Hu is led away.

[Brian US]

On 10/25/2022 at 3:44 AM, realmayo said:

Perhaps this? https://chinaheritage.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/C5CA4DD0-F3F9-41BD-A83A-92BA4C19B32E.jpeg

 

I prefer a picture a friend just sent me of Eeyore sadly looking on Pooh as a summary of that interexchange...

[vellocet]

On 10/27/2022 at 12:28 PM, Brian US said:

I prefer a picture a friend just sent me of Eeyore sadly looking on Pooh as a summary of that interexchange...

Share!!

[imron]

Perhaps this? https://www.txtreport.com/news/2022-10-24-smile!-hu-jintao-was-taken-away-from-the-20th-conference--and-li-keqiang-s-winnie-the-pooh-meme-came-out-international.BJlXaRXEi.html

[Kenny同志]

Whether it’s an intentional display of power or just an accident is debatable. One thing is for certain, however. That is, a storm is gathering for us common people. And this can be known from the membership of the Politburo. 

[Moshen]

Quote

a storm is gathering for us common people.

 

Kenny,

What kind of storm are you talking about?  Surveillance and control are already pretty bad in China.  Are you referring to something else?

 

 

[Kenny同志]

We're going back to the Mao era, at full speed. 

 

PS: Just look at what Li Qiang did. He locked people up in Shanghai for months and turned the whole city into hell. Now he is the No. 2 guy in the party. This doesn't bode well for us. 

[Moshen]

Quote

We're going back to the Mao era

 

You mean with people waving Little Red Books and persecuting folks for thought crimes?

[Kenny同志]

On 10/27/2022 at 6:11 PM, Moshen said:

You mean with people waving Little Red Books and persecuting folks for thought crimes?

This is a possible scenario. But apparently, we're going to have a planned economy. Take a look at this: 

http://m.cnhubei.com/content/2022-10/17/content_15153928.html

 

Edit: This sort of thing could potentially lead to something even worse. 

[Guest realmayo]

On 10/27/2022 at 11:11 AM, Moshen said:

thought crimes

these are of course far far easier to 'detect' (AI, smartphones) these days

[imron]

On 10/27/2022 at 9:11 PM, Moshen said:

You mean with people waving Little Red Books

That’s so last century.  Now it’s smart phone apps: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xuexi_Qiangguo

[Brian US]

On 10/26/2022 at 11:55 PM, vellocet said:

On 10/26/2022 at 11:28 PM, Brian US said:

I prefer a picture a friend just sent me of Eeyore sadly looking on Pooh as a summary of that interexchange...

Share!!

 

Whatever it was, imron posted a gooder picture.

[alantin]

My money is on Hu's removal actually being due to his health. I read somewhere that he gave an interview to some magazine etc. the same day. Also the timing of his removal just when the journalists were let in, but the incident then getting censored from the Chinese media doesn't seem like a purge. More like an embarrassing episode. IMHO the media is reading too much into it, though the symbolism suggested is chilling.

 

I'm with @Kenny同志in that the politburo and standing committee members offer much more interesting signals about where all this is heading. Especially Li Keqiang out and Li Qiang in... I'll take the cue of what they think of the future of Zero-Covid and the economy from that. Though the other guys apparently aren't famous reformists either......

 

It seems that Xi doesn't need to put up with pesky disagreements in the standing committee anymore. It will definitely make them more effective at whatever they/he is planning. I have my doubts about the end result being "rejuvenation" though... Unless it's going to be great leap forward kind of rejuvenation.

[abcdefg]

On 10/31/2022 at 12:02 PM, alantin said:

I have my doubts about the end result being "rejuvenation" though... Unless it's going to be great leap forward kind of rejuvenation.

 

Let us hope there is no great leap backward. 

[Moshen]

About 2/3 of the way through this article, there's a reference to how highly placed Chinese entrepreneurs view the incident with Hu Jintao:

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/07/business/xi-jinping-china-party-congress.html

 

Quote

Just like many ordinary Chinese people, the executives I spoke to said they were horrified by the video of Hu Jintao, Mr. Xi’s predecessor as China’s top leader, being abruptly led out of the closing ceremony of the party congress. They did not accept the official government explanation that Mr. Hu had to leave early because of health issues.

If Mr. Xi could remove his predecessor like that, several of them said, he could do anything to anyone.

 

The whole article is really interesting.  If it is paywalled, let me know as I think I can create a link to "gift" the article.

[abcdefg]

On 11/7/2022 at 4:11 PM, Moshen said:

 

The whole article is really interesting.

Agree. I read it this morning. The passage you highlighted caught my eye too!