China urges enhanced global cooperation on anti-corruption

Zhang Qingzhao, who featured on an Interpol list of China's 100 most-wanted fugitives was repatriated from the Caribbean state of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Feb 6, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]

China's top anti-graft watchdog said on Thursday that 946 Chinese fugitives are still at large in foreign countries, and that it hopes relevant countries actively support China's fight against corruption.

Of the fugitives, a majority of whom are corrupt officials, China has information on 365 of them, including when they fled China and their possible current location. However, the other 581 remain missing, according to the Communist Party of China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

"These fugitives used illegal means to embezzle large sums of public funds and fled abroad to avoid punishment, which has seriously harmed the public interest, and undermined social credibility and justice," said Liu Jianchao, director of the CCDI's International Cooperation Bureau.

"We hope the public takes an active role in providing information about the fugitives, as well as reporting other corrupt officials who intend to flee," Liu said.

Liu also called for relevant countries to adhere to a number of international conventions on fighting corruption and actively assist China in law enforcement.

China respects that other countries have different legal systems, but hopes that relevant countries do not offer shelter for Chinese fugitives, nor facilitate their transferring of assets, the CCDI said.

In recent years, a large number of corrupt Chinese officials have fled abroad, especially to the United States and Canada, due to a lack of a bilateral extradition treaties and differences in laws, according to the Ministry of Public Security.

In April 2015, Interpol issued "red notices" — a request to locate and provisionally arrest an individual pending extradition — for the 100 most-wanted corrupt Chinese officials. So far, 40 have been returned from more than 16 countries and regions, while half of the remaining fugitives are still on the run in western countries, according to the CCDI.

On Thursday, the CCDI also made public detailed information of 22 high-profile Chinese fugitives, 15 of whom are in the US and Canada. The information included suspects' photos, ID numbers, passport numbers, suspected crimes, the date they fled China and their suspected current location of residence.

The 22 people, all on the list of China's 100 most-wanted fugitives, are considered high priority because of the difficulty that Chinese law enforcement authorities have encountered in their attempts to locate and return them, according to the CCDI.