Former internet head pleads guilty to graft

The former head of China’s top internet watchdog pleaded guilty to accepting bribes of more than 32 million yuan ($4.6 million) as he stood trial in Zhejiang province on Friday.

Lu Wei, ex-head of the Cyberspace Administration of China and also former deputy head of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, confessed to the bribery and expressed remorse at the province’s Ningbo Intermediate People’s Court in his final statement.

The Ningbo prosecutors said that Lu took advantage of his work positions between July 2002 and late 2017, such as head of the cyberspace administration, deputy head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee as well as deputy head of Xinhua News Agency and vice-mayor of Beijing, to provide illegal assistance to other organizations and individuals in return for benefits.

The total amount of bribery was over 32 million, the prosecutors added.

Evidence was examined by prosecutors and Lu’s defense lawyer during the trial. More than 60 people, including deputies to the National People’s Congress, political advisers and journalists, attended the public hearing.

The court said the ruling would be announced at a later date.

Lu, 58, a native of Anhui province, was prosecuted for accepting bribes at the end of July, and he had been expelled from the Party and dismissed from public office in February.