China’s ex-internet tsar Lu Wei pleads guilty to accepting US$4.6m in bribes

The former head of China’s censorship apparatus, Lu Wei, pleaded guilty to accepting 32 million yuan (US$4.6 million) in bribes at a trial Friday.

Lu, who oversaw a tightening of online censorship during his post at the Cyberspace Administration of China, was a fierce defendent of China’s censorship policies.

In 2016, he stepped down from his post, and officials announced he was being investigated for suspected disciplinary violations the following year.

According to a post from Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court’s official Weibo account Friday, Lu was charged with accepting bribes from 2002 to the latter half of 2017.

Prosecutors said that Lu used his influence and position at various government organisations, including the Cyberspace Administration of China and Xinhua News Agency, to help others in exchange for benefits.