China's former cyberspace chief under graft probe

The former head of the Cyberspace Administration of China has been investigated for corruption, the Chinese Communist Party's anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, said on Wednesday.

Lu Wei, 57, whose last public appearance was on September 30, was suspected of "grave violations of discipline", a euphemism often used by the commission to indicate charges related to embezzlement, bribery and other forms of corruption, Efe news reported.

As chief of China's top Internet regulator during 2013-2016, Lu played a crucial role in the cybersecurity policy, launching measures to put forward strict online censorship in the country.

Websites such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram are all blocked in China.

Lu accompanied Chinese President Xi Jinping on his official visit to the US in 2014, where he met tech magnates including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple CEO Tim Cook and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.

His sudden departure from office in June 2016, while remaining as the deputy head of the Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China, had fuelled speculation about his possible fall into disgrace in the regime.

--IANS

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