China continues its worldwide search for corruption suspects on most wanted list
News broke Tuesday that the 50th person out of China’s 100 most-wanted fugitives suspected of corruption had been captured. This serves as a stark warning to the remaining 50, in knowing that for them too, being caught is just a matter of time.
In April 2015, Chinese Interpol’s National Central Bureau released a list of 100 “red level” corruption suspects who had fled overseas.
Many of them were former officials or executives of Stateowned enterprises.
Following the release, half of those on the list returned from 19 countries and regions, including 12 from the US and 11 from Canada.
It is noteworthy that 34 suspects returned voluntarily and turned themselves in after being persuaded by Chinese authorities.
At its landmark 19th National Congress, the Communist Party of China (CPC) pledged to find all fugitives and bring them to justice.
Of the 50 who have been located, six had been on the run for more than 15 years. China’s determination and ability in tracking down these fugitives is undeniable.
As of June this year, China has signed extradition treaties with 48 countries and put in place judicial assistance arrangements for criminal offenses with nearly 60 countries and regions. In addition, China has sought cooperation through multilateral frameworks such as the G20, APEC and the UN Convention Against Corruption.
During the 2014 APEC meeting in Beijing, the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption was adopted, with the aim to eliminate corruption through extradition and judicial assistance and establish more flexible legal measures to recover stolen money.
Last year, G20 leaders in Hangzhou also endorsed the High Level Principles on Cooperation on Persons Sought for Corruption and Asset Recovery, and the 2017-18 G20 Anti-corruption Action Plan.
With the net tightened, cooperation between China and other countries formed a strong deterrent to those who harbor ideas of absconding.
Capturing the fugitives is just one part of China’s efforts in the fight against corruption.
China is pushing forward national anti-corruption legislation and creating a corruption reporting platform that covers both disciplinary inspection commissions and supervision agencies.
Reform of the national supervision system is also expanding across the country, with supervisory commissions established at national, provincial, prefectural, and county levels. The new system will ensure that supervision covers all those working in the public sector that exercises public power.
With these new measures, the world is continuing to see that China has zero tolerance for corruption – bad news for fleeing suspects or would-be offenders.