BEIJING, Sept 27: A senior Chinese internet regulator has been sacked and expelled him from the ruling Communist Party for accepting huge bribes.
Gao Jianyun, an assistant bureau-level official of a taskforce under the newly-established central leading group for internet security and information sought and accepted huge bribes among other serious disciplinary violations, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) said.
China has stepped up internet security in recent months specially after revelations from former NSA analyst Edward Snowden of internet snooping by the US.
The leading group, set up in February, is a top party panel on internet security and technology.
It is headed by President Xi Jinping , with Premier Li Keqiang and senior official Liu Yunshan as its deputy heads.
The taskforce is operated by the State Internet Information Office, where Gao was deputy chief, the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post reported today.
Authorities announced in April they were probing Gao.
The investigation found that Gao used his position to make profit for others, and asked for and took huge bribes, the commission said in a statement.
It is unclear how he took bribes and the amounts involved.
It was also not clear what Gao’s duties were in the leading group, but positions he held previously, such as deputy director of the fifth bureau of the International Communication Office of the party’s Central Committee, dealt with internet publicity and censorship, the Post report said.
The fifth bureau handles internet censorship, regulation and expands the government’s voice on the internet.
Gao’s acts constituted crimes, and his case would be handed over to the judiciary for prosecution, the statement said.
Li Wufeng , a deputy director of the State Information Office and Gao’s former superior, jumped to his death from his Beijing office in March, about a month before the authorities announced that Gao was being investigated. (PTI)
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