A cyber czar falls to earth
Lu Wei ้ฒ็ is a propaganda official who headed up the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) from 2013 to 2016.
- Lu became the public face of the tightening of censorshipย and the concept of โinternet sovereigntyโ that has characterized Xi Jinpingโs time as leader of Chinaโs Communist Party.
- In June last year, official media announced, without explanation, that Lu was stepping down from his post as director of CAC.
- Lu is now under investigationย for โserious violations of Party discipline,โ which usually means corruption, according to a November 21 announcementย (in Chinese) fromย the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).
- Caixinย has a reportย on Lu, or see the CCDIย (in Chinese). You can read more about Luโs rise before his fall on China Story.
- Luโs fall is not an indication that internet restrictions will be relaxed.ย But China has lost an official who was willing to go to the heart of Silicon Valleyย and defend internet censorship with a smile on his face.
In other internet news, the communications service Skype has disappearedย from Appleโs app store and other download sites in China. The New York Timesย reportsย (paywall)ย that an Apple spokesperson said that the companyย had been notified by the Ministry of Public Security that โa number of voice over internet protocol apps do not comply with local law,โ forcing them to remove the apps.
Teaching the Nanjing Atrocities
If youโre a history or China studies teacher, you might be interested in two online seminars to be held next week by the nonprofit Facing History, on teaching about the Nanjing Atrocities: November 29 at 8 – 9 a.m. ESTย andย November 30 at 3 – 4 p.m. EST.ย Facing History has also published a blog postย on โThree reasons to explore the Nanjing Atrocities 80 years later.โ
A job posting in Washington
The Voice of Americaย has a job opening for a China Branch Chiefย based in Washington, D.C. Responsibilities include managing a multimedia newsroom of about 100 journalists producing Mandarin and Cantonese content. The application deadline is midnight Eastern Time on November 29, 2017. For more information and to apply, please click here if you are a U.S. citizen, and here if you are a foreign national.
