Contrary to the decision and deployment of the Party Central Committee on waging an online public opinion struggle, Peng Bo was expelled from the party

More than two years after his retirement, Peng Bo, who had experienced multiple identities as a teacher, media person, official, and scholar, was expelled from the party. On August 17, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission published the news that Peng Bo, former deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Preventing and Handling Cult Problems, had been expelled from the party for serious violations of discipline and the law.

It has been 5 months since Peng Bo was informed to be subject to examination and investigation, and this time the circular said that Peng Bo's ideals and convictions have collapsed, he is disloyal to the party, he has deviated from the decision and deployment of the party Central Committee on waging the struggle for public opinion on the Internet, he has given up the management of the Internet front, used public instruments privately, relied on the Internet to eat the net, resisted organizational censorship, and engaged in superstitious activities; violated the spirit of the eight central regulations, illegally entered and left private clubs, and accepted banquets at public expense in violation of regulations; did not report personal matters in accordance with regulations; and did not have any discipline and law bottom line, engaged in power and money transactions, and sought benefits for his relatives' business activities ; Taking advantage of one's position to seek benefits for others in the operation of enterprises and other aspects, and illegally accepting huge amounts of money and property.

The circular said that Peng Bo seriously violated the party's political discipline, organizational discipline, honesty discipline, work discipline, and life discipline, constituting a serious violation of official duties and suspected of accepting bribes, and still did not restrain and did not take over after the Eighteenth National Congress of the Party, which was serious in nature and had a bad impact, and should be dealt with severely. In accordance with the "Regulations on Disciplinary Punishment of the Communist Party of China," the "Supervision Law of the People's Republic of China," the "Law of the People's Republic of China on The Punishment of Public Employees in Government Affairs," and other relevant provisions, after being studied by the Standing Committee of the Central Discipline Inspection Commission and reported to the CPC Central Committee for approval, it was decided to give Peng Bo the punishment of expulsion from the party; to cancel the treatment he enjoyed in accordance with regulations; to confiscate the proceeds of his violation of discipline and the law; and to transfer his suspected crimes to the procuratorial organs for examination and prosecution according to law, and the property involved was transferred together.

Peng Bo. Infographic

He has worked in the media for a long time

Peng Bo was the former full-time deputy director of the State Internet Information Office and served as the main person in charge of many media.

Public resumes show that Peng Bo, born in March 1957, a native of Nanxian County, Hunan Province, graduated from the School of Economics of Peking University with a major in finance, and a postgraduate degree in on-the-job education and a doctorate in economics. Peng Bo entered Hunan Nanxian No. 1 Middle School as a teacher in 1974, and after resuming the college entrance examination in 1977, he was admitted to Peking University Chinese Department of Journalism.

Subsequently, Peng Bo's resume also focused on the media. For example, in the 1980s, he served as deputy director and acting director of the international department of China Youth Daily, and in October 1989, he joined the newly launched China Business Times as deputy editor-in-chief. Since then, he has also served as deputy editor-in-chief, editor-in-chief, president and party secretary of China Youth Magazine, vice president and deputy editor-in-chief of China Youth Publishing (General) And editor-in-chief of the Central Network Film and Television Center of the Communist Youth League.

Subsequently, Peng Bo entered the government from the media, and the direction of work was also related to news. From 2006 to 2012, he served as deputy director of the Internet News and Publicity Administration Bureau of the Central Foreign Propaganda Office/Information Office of the State Council (at the level of the main bureau), director of the Network News Coordination Bureau of the State Internet Information Office, and director of the Network News Emergency Response Bureau. In September 2012, Peng Bo was appointed full-time deputy director (vice ministerial level) of the State Internet Information Office.

In 2014, the Fourth Plenary Session of the Eighteenth Central Committee issued the Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Major Issues Concerning the Comprehensive Advancement of Governing the Country According to Law, proposing to strengthen legislation in the field of the Internet, improve laws and regulations on network information services, network security protection, network social management, and other aspects, and regulate network behavior in accordance with law. Later, when the Cyberspace Administration of China held a meeting on "The National Cyberspace Administration Discusses Promoting the Rule of Law in Cyberspace" in Beijing, Peng Bo said in this regard that a network legal system has been established with the Constitution as the foundation, traditional laws as the basis, and information network infrastructure legislation, network service provider legislation, network user legislation, network information legislation, and network management legislation as supplements.

At a time when the Internet industry such as new online media and mobile phone APP is developing rapidly, the Cyberspace Administration of China has issued a number of documents on Internet management, and Peng Bo, as a full-time deputy director, has repeatedly made public statements to introduce the background and intention of drafting relevant documents. For example, in August 2014, Peng Bo interpreted the Interim Provisions on the Development and Administration of Public Information Services for Instant Messaging Tools ("Ten Articles of Instant Messaging") on a television program. In January 2015, the Cyberspace Administration of China launched a special campaign of online extortion and paid deletion of posts, and Peng Bo talked about the case of Gao Jianyun, former deputy director of the Fifth Bureau of the Central Foreign Propaganda Office, which had occurred the previous year. He said that the black sheep in the current network management team appear from time to time, and some cadres collude inside and outside to participate in network deletion activities. "Online blackmail and paid deletion of posts are violations of law and discipline and are an important task in the anti-corruption struggle of the Internet information system."

His old boss Lu Wei amassed 32 million yuan and was sentenced to 14 years in prison

It is worth noting that when Peng Bo was deputy director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, Lu Wei served as the director of the agency. In November 2017, Lu Wei, former deputy director of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee, announced his dismissal. In March 2019, Lu Wei was sentenced to 14 years in prison and fined 3 million yuan in the first instance, and he said in court that he would obey the verdict and would not appeal. He amassed a wealth of 32 million yuan and accepted bribes for up to 16 years.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection mentioned in its circular that Lu Wei violated work discipline and selectively carried out the central authorities' strategic arrangements for network information work. This briefing to Peng Bo mentioned that he deviated from the decision and deployment of the Party Central Committee on waging a struggle for public opinion on the Internet and abandoned the management of the Internet front.

In August 2015, Peng Bo stepped down as deputy director of the State Internet Information Office, and since then he has served as the head of the Coordination Group for Online Public Opinion Response and Lawful Handling of the Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, and the former deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group for The Prevention and Handling of Cult Issues.

According to public information, the Office of the former Central Leading Group for Preventing and Handling Cult Problems, founded in 1999, is an organ of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council that comprehensively coordinates the work of preventing and handling cult issues. After the reform of the party and state institutions in 2018, the responsibilities of the former Central Leading Group for Preventing and Handling Cult Problems and its office were transferred to the Central Political and Legal Commission and the Ministry of Public Security.

From the administrative body to the coordinating body, Peng Bo's public reporting has gradually decreased. In 2018, at the age of 61, Peng Bo retired, and was then hired by his alma mater, Peking University, as a liberal arts chair professor, doctoral supervisor, and dean of the Internet Research Institute of Peking University (Shenzhen) at the School of Journalism and Communication.

During this time, Peng Bo's focus is still on the Internet, and in public interviews, lectures, and speeches, he mainly talks about network management and the digital divide, and repeatedly says that China needs to improve "digital leadership." On the eve of his downfall, in February this year, he also published an English paper on this topic.

On the afternoon of 13 March this year, the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the State Supervision Commission published a document: Peng Bo, former deputy director of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Preventing and Handling Cult Problems, is suspected of serious violations of discipline and the law, and is currently under disciplinary review and supervision and investigation by the Central Discipline Inspection Commission and the State Supervision Commission.

Nandu reporter Song Chenghan sent from Beijing