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What happened to China’s former leader Hu Jintao? | CNN

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What happened to China’s former leader Hu Jintao? | CNN



CNN
 — 

It’s a second that for a lot of observers has come to outline strongman chief Xi Jinping’s tightening grip on China: his visibly frail predecessor, Hu Jintao, being escorted out of a key Communist Occasion assembly throughout a five-yearly management reshuffle – apparently at Xi’s behest.

Photos of two males ushering the 79-year-old from his seat and towards the exit have been beamed the world over because the celebration’s Nationwide Congress got here to an in depth Saturday, resulting in days of hypothesis over whether or not Hu was the sufferer of a intentionally public energy play.

This week, these rumors have solely grown – regardless of a declare by Chinese language state media on Twitter that Hu left on account of ill-health – and the intrigue is more likely to develop additional nonetheless with the discharge of footage exhibiting the 90 seconds main as much as his sudden elimination.

The footage, launched by Singapore broadcaster CNA on Tuesday, reveals a sequence of high-level exchanges between senior celebration leaders, by which Hu is repeatedly prevented from taking a look at official paperwork in entrance of him.

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It reveals Li Zhanshu, the celebration’s outgoing number-three official, who’s sitting subsequent to Hu on the entrance desk on stage, take the paperwork from Hu’s hand and place them beneath a pink folder. When Hu then reaches for the paperwork, Li pulls them away.

Xi, who’s sat on Hu’s different aspect, glances on the exchanges and summons a senior aide to whom he speaks briefly. Moments later, a second aide hurries over, receives an instruction from Xi, then speaks to an apparently nonplussed Hu.

As per the footage that circulated on Saturday, Hu – who seems reluctant to depart – is then lifted from his chair, taken by the arm and escorted out.

Not one of the footage – both that launched on Saturday or Tuesday – has been broadcast in China. Neither has the incident been reported in Chinese language language media, or mentioned on Chinese language social media, the place conversations round senior leaders are extremely restricted.

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Late on Saturday evening, China’s official Xinhua information company tweeted in English that Hu “insisted on attending” the closing ceremony regardless of his poor well being and was escorted out after feeling unwell. Nonetheless, inside China, the place Twitter is blocked, the incident was not talked about.

On Weibo, censors even restricted the search outcomes for obscure key phrases corresponding to “escorted away” or “leaving the assembly,” in an obvious effort to stop customers from making veiled references to the incident, based on Eric Liu, a censorship analyst with China Digital Instances.

Tuesday’s footage has fueled fervent hypothesis about what was within the doc and why Hu was not allowed to see it – and left observers divided over what sparked his exit.

Some keep it was possible on account of Hu’s poor well being or psychological state – after retiring in 2013, he has been seen in public wanting more and more frail. Others recommend it might be a deliberate energy play by Xi to point out his unequalled authority.

Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao is taken by the arm and escorted out.

Like many unexplained episodes within the black field of elite Chinese language politics, the true motive behind Hu’s surprising departure might by no means be recognized. However consultants say the symbolism – unintended or in any other case – is difficult to overlook: Having eradicated any vestige of affect from celebration elders or rival factions, Xi has ushered in a brand new period of one-man rule surrounded by solely staunch loyalists.

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In the meantime, gone with Hu are the numerous hallmarks that had outlined his decade in energy throughout which he presided over a interval of double-digit financial development and comparative openness.

Hu additionally relinquished each his celebration and army posts when he retired in 2012 after two phrases in energy – incomes him reward from Xi for “his broad thoughts and noble character.”

Whereas Hu was by no means as highly effective as Xi is now – owing partially to the mannequin of collective management and the balancing affect of a number of celebration factions and elders, together with his predecessor Jiang Zemin – he was related to a faction linked to the Communist Youth League, a as soon as highly effective grouping whose affect has diminished significantly throughout Xi’s rule.

Steve Tsang, director of the SOAS China Institute on the College of London, mentioned the newest footage suggests Hu’s dramatic exit was possible not deliberate.

“For no matter causes, Xi ordered Hu to be escorted out when he should have thought that Hu may not behave precisely as Xi would have wished,” he mentioned.

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The brand new video has been interpreted by some as an indication of Hu’s supposed displeasure with the result of the Congress, which noticed Xi consolidate his energy by stacking the brand new management workforce along with his loyal allies and proteges.

Premier Li Keqiang and Wang Yang, head of China’s prime advisory physique, each retired from the celebration’s supreme Politburo Standing Committee, regardless of being one 12 months under the unofficial retirement age of 68. Each Li and Wang are seen as nearer to Hu’s sphere of affect.

In an much more shocking revelation on Sunday, Vice Premier Hu Chunhua, one other protege of the elder Hu (the 2 aren’t associated), was dropped from the brand new 24-member Politburo. As soon as seen as a rising star being groomed for the highest management, Hu Chunhua’s political future has dimmed beneath Xi.

However Wen-Ti Sung, a political scientist on the Australian Nationwide College, mentioned a deliberate public purge on the closing of the congress was unlikely, given the celebration’s emphasis on unity.

“The Chinese language Communist Occasion prizes the picture of unity and management, and extra so than ever throughout the Xi period,” mentioned Sung.

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If Xi had wished to purge Hu to stop the previous chief from elevating objections in public, he would have executed so earlier than overseas press have been allowed into the auditorium, Sung mentioned.

“A high-profile purge of Hu at a vital juncture just like the twentieth Occasion Congress reveals the presence of dissent, and the notion that Xi is a minimum of ‘challengeable,’” he mentioned. “Neither is nice for Xi’s picture of invincibility.”

Many observers have been additionally struck by the obvious coldness of the opposite leaders on the stage. Few confirmed any concern for Hu, and plenty of averted wanting in his path.

“There’s no empathy,” mentioned Alfred Wu, an affiliate professor on the Lee Kuan Yew Faculty of Public Coverage on the Nationwide College of Singapore.

To rise by way of the celebration, officers have discovered to cover their private feelings and traits, Wu mentioned, “They simply attempt to be like a machine within the celebration equipment.”

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On his manner out, Hu patted the shoulder of his protege, Premier Li, who nodded and turned briefly to observe him stroll away. Subsequent to Li, Wang sat upright and stared straight forward, seemingly frozen in movement.

Former Chinese leader Hu Jintao pats the shoulder of his protege, Premier Li Keqiang.

Additional down the sting of the stage, Hu Chunhua didn’t even solid a look towards the celebration elder as he handed by. As a substitute, he appeared straight forward with a notable frown and arms folded throughout his chest.

However even when the actual motive for the elder Hu’s departure by no means turns into clear, the incident has however despatched an unequivocal message about Xi’s absolute maintain on energy, analysts say.

Hu’s undignified exit confirmed that “Xi had lowered the as soon as highly effective (Communist) Youth League faction to insignificance,” mentioned Tsang on the College of London.

“With no successor in sight, and the earlier chief humiliated, Xi had projected to the celebration that…nobody within the celebration ought to look over his shoulder for one more chief, be him the long run or the previous chief,” Tsang mentioned.

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“Now there is just one chief in China.”

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Harris says Trump 'devalues' women's ability to make their own choices

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Harris says Trump 'devalues' women's ability to make their own choices

PHOENIX — Vice President Kamala Harris said Thursday that former President Donald Trump’s remarks this week about protecting women whether they “like it or not” is another sign of how he “devalues” women.

“His latest comment is just the most recent in a series of examples that we have seen from him in his words and deeds about how he devalues the ability of women to have the choice and the freedom to make decisions about their own body,” Harris told NBC News in an exclusive interview.

The vice president also argued that most Americans “believe that women are intelligent enough and should have and be respected for their agency to make decisions for themselves about what is in their best interest,” rather than the government or Trump “telling them what to do.”

The Trump campaign did not immediately provide a comment on Harris’ remarks.

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Trump on Wednesday said that his “people” had instructed him not to say that he wanted to “protect the women.”

“I said, ‘Well, I’m going to do it, whether the women like it or not.’ I’m going to protect them,” Trump said during his rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

In an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press NOW,” Trump campaign spokesperson Karoline Leavitt was asked if she can see how Trump’s comments about doing something “whether the women like it or not” might make women uncomfortable.

“No, I can’t. Because if you look at the full context of President Trump’s remarks, he brought this up in the context of illegal immigration and protecting women from the illegal immigrant criminals,” Leavitt said Thursday.

Harris on Thursday also talked about President Joe Biden’s “garbage” remark from earlier this week, in which he appeared to criticize either Trump supporters or a comedian who delivered racist jokes at Trump’s rally in New York, and reiterated her view that “we should never criticize people based on who they vote for.”

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In addressing Biden’s comments, Harris pointed to Trump’s rhetoric about “the enemy from within” and comparing the U.S. to a “garbage can.”

“He does not understand that most people are exhausted with his rhetoric, exhausted with that approach, exhausted with an approach that Donald Trump has that’s trying to divide our country and have Americans point fingers at each other,” she said. “They’re done with it, and they’re ready to turn the page.”

Harris’ comments came before her rally in Phoenix. Her next campaign stops on Thursday are in Nevada, where she will hold rallies in Reno and Las Vegas.

The Sun Belt blitz comes as polling indicates a neck-and-neck presidential race less than a week before Election Day.

When asked by NBC News what Harris thinks her late mother would say to her in the final days before the election, Harris smiled.

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“‘Just go beat him,’” she said, laughing. “That’s probably what she’d say. Yeah, that’s my mother.”

Yamiche Alcindor reported from Phoenix, and Megan Lebowitz from Washington, D.C.

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Election 2024 Polls: Senate Races

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Election 2024 Polls: Senate Races

About our polling averages

Our averages include polls collected by The New York Times and by FiveThirtyEight. The estimates adjust for a variety of factors, including the recency and sample size of a poll, whether a poll represents likely voters, and whether other polls have shifted since a poll was conducted.

We also evaluate whether each pollster: Has a track record of accuracy in recent electionsIs a member of a professional polling organizationConducts probability-based sampling

These elements factor into how much weight each poll gets in the average. And we consider pollsters that meet at least two of the three criteria to be “select pollsters,” so long as they are conducting polls for nonpartisan sponsors. Read more about our methodology.

The Times conducts its own national and state polls in partnership with Siena College. Those polls are included in the averages. Follow Times/Siena polling here.

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Maine and Nebraska award two electoral votes to the statewide winner and a single electoral vote to the winner of each congressional district. (Maine has two congressional districts, and Nebraska has three.) Historical election results for these districts are calculated based on votes cast within the current boundaries of the district.

Sources: Polling averages by The New York Times. Individual polls collected by FiveThirtyEight and The Times.

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Estée Lauder shares plunge as China sales slump prompts dividend cut

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Estée Lauder shares plunge as China sales slump prompts dividend cut

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Estée Lauder, the beauty company that owns Clinique and MAC Cosmetics, has cut its dividend and ditched its profit forecast as a sales slump in China deepens, prompting a 25 per cent plunge in its shares as trading opened in New York.

The New York-listed beauty group, which is in the midst of a turnaround and leadership transition, said on Thursday that a recovery in Chinese demand had proved slower than expected, with sales in the country falling by a double-digit percentage in the three months to the end of September.

As a result of the difficulty in forecasting when the Chinese market will recover, Estée Lauder said it was withdrawing its outlook for the rest of the year and reducing its dividend to a “more appropriate” level.

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Fabrizio Freda, who will retire as chief executive in January after 16 years at the company, said Estée Lauder expected “still-strong declines” in demand in China as well as in tourist shopping in Asia in the near term, and “ongoing normalisation of growth in prestige beauty, most notably in North America”.

The beauty industry has taken a hit from the economic slowdown in China, which has been a major profit engine for Estée Lauder and its larger rival L’Oréal in recent years.

The dour outlook will be another challenge incoming chief executive Stéphane de La Faverie will have to contend with when he takes the reins at a time when the Lauder family that controls the beauty group is stepping back from day-to-day management.

The company is implementing a turnaround programme designed to cut costs and overheads while reinvesting in its brands and innovation. Freda said the reset had “delivered promising initial results”.

After underperforming peers during two years of falling sales and profits, Thursday’s outlook cut is another blow for a company whose shares are now down 55 per cent this year, reducing its market value to $23bn.

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L’Oréal, the world’s biggest beauty company, last week missed quarterly sales expectations and flagged ongoing weakness in China and in travel retail. Its shares are down 23 per cent this year.

Estée Lauder reported a 4 per cent year-on-year drop in sales to $3.36bn in the three months to the end of September. It expects the rate of decline to accelerate to 6 to 8 per cent in the current quarter.

All of Estée Lauder’s divisions had falling sales this quarter, with skincare — its biggest by sales — down 8 per cent on a like-for-like basis. Losses in make-up, its second biggest, deepened in the quarter compared with the same period a year ago.

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