The organization was established in 2014, two years after Mr. Xi became Communist Party leader, to strengthen the party’s direct control over the internet. It started as a central leadership group for cyber issues and expanded into a committee in 2018.
Tsai’s appointment has not been announced, but a source in Beijing said she is expected to take the helm of the committee in the first half of 2023.
The party typically does not announce such appointments. These are typically disclosed in a public statement issued after the meeting and include the roles and titles of key members.
The Cyber Commission and the newly established Science and Technology Commission are the only exceptions where the party has not done so.
It is the first time Mr Xi has handed over the role to another official since he became party chairman in 2012, and Chinese leaders have held dozens of similar positions.
However, there has been no change in the chain of command, and Tsai will respond to Xi and continue to inform Xi of the committee’s decisions.
Tsai herself has emphasized the importance of Xi’s guidance on cybersecurity, reading instructions from the president at a meeting to discuss the topic in July, Xinhua said.
State news agencies said the meeting was attended by members of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission, with Tsai in attendance as the top official, but there was no mention of a change in leadership.
Tsai already had more authority than previous presidential chiefs of staff. He is No. 5 on the seven-member Politburo Standing Committee, China’s power center, and is the first person since the Mao era to hold both roles.
He is also the most senior member of the party’s secretariat, meaning he has influence over issues such as ideology and personnel affairs, although final decision-making authority rests with Xi.
Deng Yuwen, former deputy editor-in-chief of the Central Party school newspaper Learning Times, said the move suggests that Mr. Xi will continue to delegate to his most trusted aides and seek to form a new power structure. He said there was.
The move comes as Mr Xi has delegated more duties since the start of his third term as party leader, with senior leaders attending meetings on his behalf.
A political scientist at Tsinghua University said Tsai’s new role in charge of cyber affairs showed Xi’s “firm trust”.
That’s because the president views areas such as cybersecurity, online propaganda and the digital economy as “life-or-death issues” for his party, said the researcher, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issues.
A second Beijing-based source said the position was a “natural choice” because it overlaps with Tsai’s propaganda efforts.
“A large part of the Central Cyberspace Affairs Commission’s work involves spreading the party’s message on Chinese internet platforms,” the official said. “So there’s a good synergy between propaganda and cyber issues.”
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How China Censors the Internet
How China Censors the Internet
Tsai was a heavy social media user during the 2000s when she held various public positions in Zhejiang province. He has his 10 million followers on Weibo and has used the platform to engage with the public and advocate for an “open and transparent” government.
I first met Mr. Xi in the 1980s in Fujian Province, where Mr. Xi had lived for about 20 years. Tsai again served under Xi in Zhejiang province when he rose to a leadership position in the 2000s.
In 2014, two years after Xi took over as party leader, Tsai was appointed executive vice director of the new National Security Commission and moved to Beijing. In 2017, Tsai was appointed Beijing Party Chairman and Politburo member.
