China’s former internet tsar Lu Wei comes out of the shadows after three months – in new role

China’s former internet tsar Lu Wei has been seen in public again in a new role – three months after losing his previous job.

Less than a year ago, Lu was giving a speech in Zhejiang province on China’s solution to global internet governance to about 2,000 politicians and business executives from around the world at the closing ceremony of the government-organised World Internet Conference.

His speech was considered the second most important, behind the opening remarks made by President Xi Jinping.

But when Lu, 56, was seen in Zhejiang last month, with a different job title, he had no red carpet to greet him. The local Communist Party boss and Zhejiang’s governor shunned him during his three-day visit – despite the established protocol in China of regional chiefs to receive cadres sent there from Beijing.

Lu’s removal from his role of director of the Cyberspace Administration in June surprised many as he was trusted by Xi. The president, as founder and chairman of the Central Leading Group for Cyberspace Affairs, had installed Lu as director of the general office of the group in 2014.