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SCMP Reporter

The mainland’s internet tsar – the official in charge of overseeing ­cybersecurity and online censorship – has stepped aside.
Lu Wei, the first director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, will be succeeded by his deputy Xu Lin, Xinhua reported yesterday, confirming a South China Morning Post exclusive.
It is unclear if Lu, 56, will get a new appointment in addition to his present role as a deputy head of the Communist Party’s Central Publicity Department.
China to strive for greater clout on the internet through global governance system
Officials were briefed on the matter on Tuesday evening, a source said.
Xu was Shanghai’s publicity chief before he was appointed Lu’s deputy in July last year.
Xu is regarded as one of President Xi Jinping’s key supporters, having worked with him as a standing committee member of Shanghai’s Communist Party when Xi was its chief. Xi moved to Beijing in late 2007.

Lu, also seen as a close ally of Xi, was listed by Time magazine in 2015 as one of the world’s 100 most influential people.
Jon Huntsman, a former US ambassador to China, wrote in the magazine: “As China aspires to become a global cyberpower, Lu could hold the keys to its future, determining whether there will be sufficient oxygen for the 21st century. Almost half of China’s 1.4 billion population is online.”
Be more positive, Chinese internet tsar Lu Wei tells celebrity weibo users
Lu, a controversial figure, oversaw the tightening of online controls during his tenure as China’s top internet regulator – a position he had held since 2013, when the office was set up.
Under his watch, the government launched a massive ­campaign to clamp down on what it said were rumour mongers. This coincided with the hunting down of a couple of opinion leaders on criminal charges ­ranging from ­illegal business operations to ­obscene acts.
In cyberspace, China’s aim is to control and censor, no matter what it says
In 2014, Xi set up a leading group on cybersecurity, which he chairs. Lu’s department became responsible for the daily operation of the group.
Qiao Mu, a communications professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, said there would be continuity after Lu’s departure.
“The Cyberspace Administration of China is an agency that implements decisions made from above ... The change of its director does not suggest softening of China’s internet policy.”


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China’s Communist Party

China’s powerful internet tsar steps aside as another of Xi Jinping’s close allies to take over

Lu Wei, incumbent head of China’s Cyberspace Administration. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Xu Lin

China to strive for greater clout on the internet through global governance system

(151215) -- TONGXIANG, Dec. 15, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Lu Wei (2nd R), minister in charge of the Cyberspace Administration of China, Xia Baolong (3rd R), secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, and Li Qiang (4th R), governor of Zhejiang, attend the opening ceremony of the Light of the Internet Expo in Wuzhen Township, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 15, 2015. The expo opened here Tuesday as part of the 2nd World Internet Conference, which will be held between Dec. 16 and 18. (Xinhua/Xu Yu) (ry)

 (151216) -- WUZHEN, Dec. 16, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Founder of Alibaba Group Jack Ma reacts during a round-table discussion of Chinese and Russian enterprises in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 16, 2015. Representatives from Chinese and Russian enterprises, including Alibaba Group, Tencent and Skolkovo, participated in the discussion here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Li Xin)(mcg)

(151217) -- WUZHEN, Dec. 17, 2015 (Xinhua) -- Lu Wei, general secretary of Internet Society of China, speaks at a forum on Internet culture and communication of the 2015 World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, east China's Zhejiang Province, Dec. 17, 2015. (Xinhua/Li Xin)(mcg)


Lu Wei (second from right), minister in charge of the Cyberspace Administration of China, with other officials at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang. Photo: Xinhua

Be more positive, Chinese internet tsar Lu Wei tells celebrity weibo users

The internet forum on Saturday in Beijing. Photo: SCMP 

In cyberspace, China’s aim is to control and censor, no matter what it says

No Caption Available.

Men look at computers in an internet bar in Beijing on December 16, 2015. "Freedom and order" are both necessary in cyberspace, Chinese President Xi Jinping said on December 16, as he opened a government-organised internet conference condemned by campaigners as an attempt to promote China's online controls globally. AFP PHOTO / GREG BAKER

China's rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang (L) speaks at a court session in Beijing in this still image from a December 14, 2015 video. The court convicted Pu, one of China's most prominent rights lawyers, on December 22, 2015 of "inciting ethnic hatred" and trouble-making with posts criticising the government, handing down a suspended sentence that means he avoids jail but will not practise law again. REUTERS/CCTV via Reuters TV ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

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Lu Wei relinquishes his role overseeing China’s cyberspace


Exclusive | China’s powerful internet tsar steps aside as another of Xi Jinping’s close allies to take over

Lu Wei relinquishes his role overseeing China’s cyberspace