Chinese graft fugitives mainly in North America, Australasia

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Chinese graft fugitives mainly in North America, Australasia

Staff Reporter
2015-05-05

Interpol's homepage. (Internet photo)

The majority of China's most wanted fugitives accused of corruption are believed to be hiding in North America and Australasia, where no extradition agreement is in place, reports the Guangzhou-based Southern Weekly.

China announced a list of the 100 most wanted fugitives suspected of corruption on April 22. Arrest notices for these people have been issued through Interpol, said the report.

The United States is believed to be home to 40 of the 100 fugitives, followed by Canada with 26, while other popular destinations include Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Singapore, said the report.

Cheng Muyang, son of former Hebei Communist Party chief Cheng Weigao, was recently exposed to be a property developer in Vancouver known as Michael Ching. He is a rare example among the other fugitives that try to maintain a low profile, said the report.

"He is quite active in Vancouver and has several large property projects," a local politician said of Cheng Muyang, who is wanted by China for graft and concealing illicit asset transfers.

Cheng Muyang's daughter, Linda Ching, who is the president of the Young Liberals of Canada in British Columbia, also made the news when she was interviewed by local Chinese-language media earlier this year.

Chinese fugitives in Canada mainly choose to live in Vancouver and Toronto, which have a large Chinese community and thus a lower language barrier, said the report. In the US, Chinese fugitives also like to stay in cities where people of Chinese ethnicity congregate, including Los Angeles and New York, said the newspaper.

A Chinese man who has lived in Los Angeles for more than 10 years, using the alias of Zhang Xiang, said Chinese individuals with a higher social status tend to live in Malibu to avoid being noticed.

New York is a more preferable destination for Chinese nationals on the run because of the city's lifestyle.

The US and Canada became top destinations for Chinese fugitives, because the two countries have not signed an extradition agreement with China, said the report. The US has only sent back two wanted Chinese nationals since 2004, in both cases for entering the country illegally. Canada, on the other hand, signed a pact with China that specifically targets economic crimes.

New Zealand and Australia, which have not signed an extradition agreement with China, are more hesitant to deport fugitives because of domestic pressures stemming from the fear of these people facing the death penalty after they are sent back from the two countries, which have abandoned capital punishment.