By Paul Joseph Watson
A State Department official met with the czar of China’s infamous Internet censorship program in Washington DC yesterday, where she urged “co-operation” with the figure who helped implement prison sentences for online critics of the ruling Communist Party.
Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Catherine Novelli joined Lu Wei, minister of the Cyberspace Administration of China, at the China-U.S. Internet Industry Forum, which was attended by over 150 government officials and industry leaders from around the globe.
Newspaper reports after the conference focused on the speech given by Wei, who urged US companies to “respect” China’s draconian Internet laws or face being isolated from the market.
China routinely censors the Internet and cuts off access in order to hide evidence of government corruption and to cover up atrocities committed by the state, a process that Wei has personally overseen since 2011.
According to the New York Times, “On his watch, the government increased blocks on foreign websites and issued new regulations to restrict sharing on social media and increase censorship of popular online video sites.”
Wei also helped influence a Chinese Supreme Court decision which ruled that web users who posted content critical of the state deemed be a “false rumor” were personally responsible for the post if it received over 500 shares and could be subject to fines and jail time.
“Soon after assuming his most recent post, Lu issued a challenge to the country’s most popular social media users,” writes C. Mitchell Shaw. “The users he targeted are called the “Big V’s” because of their “verified accounts.” With some of them reaching millions of followers, they were a large thorn in the flesh of Lu and his censors. He ordered them to keep their posts “positive” and to take responsibility for them. When they did not heed his warning, he closed many of their accounts and limited others. At least one man, Charles Xue, an American businessman, was detained for months.”
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