This week in China’s media, former cyber czar Lu Wei, the man who for much of Xi Jinping’s first term as general secretary epitomized China’s new confidence in its policy of concerted control of cyberspace, finally appeared in court to face charges of corruption; a self-made online video streaming superstar was sentenced to detention for disrespecting China’s national anthem; and state media tried to downplay fears that the country’s private sector is in retreat.
THIS WEEK IN CHINA’S MEDIA
October 13-19, 2018
➢ Case against former cyber czar Lu Wei appears in court, accused of accepting 32 million in bribes
➢ Vice Premier Liu He voices support for role of private sector, Party media discuss non-public economy
➢ Official media debate safety of GMO foods, as Science and Technology Daily accuses Heilongjiang Daily of incorrect reporting
➢ Live-streaming star given five-day administrative detention for disrespecting national anthem
➢ Sexual assault case against actor and television host Zhu Jun to be heard October 25
[1] Case against former cyber czar Lu Wei appears in court, accused of accepting 32 million in bribes
On October 19, the Intermediate People’s Court of Ningbo City in Zhejiang province began court proceedings in the case against Lu Wei (鲁炜), a former deputy minister of the Central Propaganda Department and China’s first cyber czar as head of the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) from 2014 to 2016. During his tenure as director of the CAC, Lu fashioned an image as an unapologetic and even charismatic proponent of China’s aggressive internet control regime, saying in one speech to an international audience that a safe internet requires brakes just as safe cars require brakes.
According to the court, from 2002 through to the second half of 2017, Lu Wei abused his positions as a member of the Party committee at Xinhua News Agency, as propaganda minister of Beijing, and as head of the CAC and a deputy director of the State Council Information Office, to seek personal benefit, accepting bribes amounting to around 32 million yuan. According to reports from Xinhua News Agency, Lu Wei plead guilty to the allegations, and now awaits sentencing.
Lu Wei was deprived of his Party membership and official posts, a process known in Chinese as “shuangkai” (双开), in February 2018, and the language used against his by official state media was extraordinarily severe, suggesting that he was guilty of a long list of crimes, including “deceiving the Central Committee” (欺骗中央), “speaking idly of central Party policies” (妄议中央), “anonymously framing others” (匿名诬告他人), “interfering in inspections from the central Party” (干扰中央巡视), “vile moral conduct” (品行恶劣) and “engaging in factionalism” (拉帮结派).
Key Chinese Sources:
WeChat public account “Zhejiang Tianping” (微信公众号”浙江天平”): 中共中央宣传部原副部长鲁炜受贿案一审开庭
WeChat public account “Political Awareness Circle” (微信公众号”政知圈”): “不论如何判都认罪”的他, 落马后中央曾下发文件
[2] Vice Premier Liu He voices support for role of private sector, Party media discuss non-public economy (非公经济)
In a joint interview with the official People’s Daily newspaper, Xinhua News Agency and China Central Television appearing on October 19, Chinese Vice-Premier Liu He (刘鹤) responded to recent turbulence in Chinese share markets and and other fears about general economic weakness, including concern that the private sector was struggling in the midst of deeper economic weakness while the state sector was advancing, a phenomenon referred to in Chinese as guojin mintui (国进民退).
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