In an unexpected scene at China's 20th Communist Party Congress, former leader Hu Jintao was lifted and removed from his seat, as Xi Jinping cemented his historic third term.
A few hours after the incident, Chinese state-owned media Xinhua wrote that Mr Hu was taken to a room next to the venue to rest due to health issues, and his condition has improved.
The tweets, however, were written in English, not Chinese.
And Xinhua did not mention the incident at all in its Chinese-language coverage.
In fact, to date, no media outlet in China has mentioned it at all.
Official news broadcasters provided no close up of his empty seat, and to a Chinese audience it would appear Mr Hu was still at the closing ceremony.
The information about his removal was highly censored on Chinese social media, too, and for now it's impossible to publish his name in connection to the Congress on Weibo.
The unscripted moment sparked the curiosity of China watchers and journalists around the world.
The 79-year-old former leader has not yet returned to the public eye in the 48 hours since he was taken away.
There is also increasing concern that Mr Hu could be purged in one of the most opaque party systems in the world.
However, reputable China commentators said it was too early to speculate about what had unfolded behind the scenes.
Chinese state-owned broadcaster CCTV — a propaganda instrument — broadcast a clip showing Mr Hu sitting next to Mr Xi.
That appears to show he has not been purged — it's a CCP tradition to exclude problematic or purged officials in their news coverage.
Here is what we know.
Who is he?
Hu Jintao served as General Secretary of the CCP Central Committee for a decade, from 2002 to 2012, preceded by Jiang Zemin and succeeded by Xi Jinping.
Mr Hu's political performance was not spectacular, but China's economic growth kept moving at a high pace during his administration — delivering on the reforms and "opening up" policies of his predecessors.
However, Mr Hu has been criticised by the private sector, as his government supported state-owned enterprises more than private businesses.
On the positive side, during Mr Hu's second term in 2008, Chinese people were first allowed to travel to Taiwan for tourism purposes.
And during his tenure, China hosted its first Olympic Games — Beijing in 2008.
However, he was also questioned during his reign over many issues in regions dominated by ethnic minority groups — both Xinjiang and Tibet were embroiled in ethnic conflicts and his government launched ruthless crackdowns.
What about his relationship with Xi?
Despite their advanced ages, Mr Hu and China's current Premier Li Keqiang are considered to be the representatives of the Communist Youth League faction in the Party.
This faction was established by former CCP general secretary Hu Yaobang after the cultural revolution.
Mr Hu was inspired by Hu Yaobang's democratic reforms in China, and was a leader of one of Hu Yaobang's democratic forums in Guizhou province in 1980s.
Hu Yaobang's death triggered the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989, which became an infamous massacre.
It was a significant moment for Chinese officials like Mr Hu, who had to make a pledge to follow the party's instructions.
In contrast to Mr Hu's youth faction is Xi Jinping's "Princelings" — party members who are the children or relatives of senior CCP cadres and have a more conservative bent.
Although Mr Hu was Mr Xi's immediate predecessor, he has had no real power in the party for the past 10 years.
At the time, Mr Hu retreated somewhat and transferred of all his titles in the party, the government and the military to Mr Xi.
It was seen as a setback for the faction he represented in the party's internal struggle.
Some analysts argue that the internal factional struggles and the way the CCP operates are vastly different from Western democracies.
Even so, they argue, the CCP remains the ruling party of an authoritarian regime, and it still operates as a monolith that shows no signs of breaking down, at least for now.
What happened before he was ejected?
The scene was so intriguing because Mr Hu was taken away at the exact moment when the closing ceremony of the Congress was open to foreign news reporters.
Footage showed Mr Hu in his seat, with Li Zhanshu, the chairman of China's parliament, on his left, and Xi Jinping on his right.
When Mr Hu reached out to touch the red folder in front of him, Mr Li stopped him. A security guard then stepped forward and tried to remove him, pulling him up from the chair.
But Mr Hu appeared to try and remain in the chair and what followed was a two-minute stand-off, in which he clearly refused to be moved by the guard.
He also tried to reach out to touch the red folder in front of Mr Xi, and was stopped by the president.
Thereafter, another man approached, Kong Shaoxun, a deputy director of the Central Committee's general office, who is considered a close associate of Mr Xi.
The conversation was inaudible from the floor, but Mr Hu looked visibly puzzled and appeared to be led off the stage reluctantly.
What can we make of it?
The official Chinese media claimed that Mr Hu left the venue for health reasons.
But his refusal to leave several times led many foreign journalists and observers to believe he was forced.
The incident saw Hu Jintao's name trending on Twitter since Saturday, a first for a former Chinese leader, as the platform is banned in China.
Many interpreted this as a rare phenomenon that showed the CCP's internal struggle.
But many prominent China experts see this as an overreach.
Dr Teng Biao, the deputy editor of China Democracy Quarterly, told the ABC that Chinese politics is "a black box" and that clues often lead to over-interpretation.
"Ultimately, the problem with the CCP is not the interaction between top leaders, but the congress and the subsequent policies," Dr Teng said.
"All kinds of speculation about top officials actually can shift the focus."
However, Henry Gao, a law professor from Singapore Management University, said the episode must be read together with the scathing criticism of the Hu era as outlined in the 20th party congress report by Mr Xi.
"Given how carefully choreographed the party congress [is], it is no coincidence that this was allowed to be seen in front of all party delegates and the media," Dr Gao said.
