Former China president Hu Jintao returns to public eye for first time since mysterious exit from congress

Former Chinese president Hu Jintao, who was mysteriously removed from the Communist Party's congress in October, reappeared in public on Monday morning. Mr Hu attended a tribute for former president Jiang Zemin at the Chinese PLA General Hospital in Beijing, according to the China Central Television. The channel reported that the 79-year-old former president was seen walking unsteadily along with an attendant at the event. This is the first time since his exit from the congress in October that he has appeared in public. On 22 October, Mr Hu, who led China for 10 years before Xi Jinping assumed the presidency, was seen being physically escorted out of the closing ceremony of the twice-a-decade gathering. The former president exchanged a word with Mr Xi and patted the shoulder of his former protegé, Chinese premier Li Keqiang. Mr Hu served two five-year terms as China's president from 2003 to 2013 - the full limit a politician could serve as the country's leader until Xi Jinping's recent move to amend the Chinese Communist Party's constitution to grant himself a third.