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Major Vancouver property developer is a Chinese corruption suspect wanted by Interpol
Photos of Michael Ching match Interpol fugitive Cheng Muyang, who fled Hong Kong in 2000
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 29 April, 2015, 3:12pm
UPDATED : Thursday, 30 April, 2015, 2:15am
Ian Young in Vancouver and Li Jing
Cheng Muyang (left) in an Interpol shot, and Michael Ching in Canada in 2011. Both show a mole near the right eyebrow. Photos: SCMP Pictures
A prominent Vancouver property developer has been identified as a Chinese corruption suspect who is wanted by Interpol, the South China Morning Post can reveal.
Photographs of businessman Michael Ching Mo Yeung, the president and CEO of Mo Yeung International Enterprise, match Interpol's photo of fugitive Cheng Muyang, who is sought by the People's Procuratorate of Qiaoxi district in Shijiazhuang , Hebei province, for graft and concealing and transferring illegal gains.
Cheng, 45, is the son of Cheng Weigao - a powerful official who served as party chief of Hebei and later chairman of the local people's congress. Cheng Weigao was investigated for corruption and subsequently expelled from the Communist Party in 2003. He died in disgrace in 2010.
The son was named by graft watchdog the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) in its investigation report against the father. "Our investigation showed that Cheng Weigao, while he was the senior leader of Hebei province, abused power to help his son Cheng Muyang to grab money. [Their illegal actions] have caused huge losses to the state," said the report carried by Xinhua last Thursday.
Guo Guangyun, a former mid-ranking official who spent eight years working to expose the Cheng family, confirmed the Post's findings that the photo of Michael Ching was that of Cheng Muyang.
"I had seen him in person before, in the late 1990s, when he came to Shijiazhuang railway to look for projects," Guo, who spent 15 months in jail on trumped up charges when he tried to expose Cheng's activities, told the Post.
But his one-man crusade eventually brought down the powerful politician. Guo, now 73, is hailed by mainland media as an anti-corruption fighter.
Michael Ching (right), pictured in 2011 at an event in Richmond with Thomas Wu, former president of the Canada Asia Pacific Business Association, of which Ching is a director.
He said he would "love" to see Cheng Muyang brought back to China to face justice.
"At the time I suggested to the CCDI to put the son on surveillance because he had done many illegal things. Unfortunately, his father got wind of it and managed to arrange his escape," Guo said.
Cheng Muyang, a permanent Hong Kong resident, fled from the mainland to the city in 2000. He left Hong Kong for Canada in the same year, according to the CCDI. China only made a formal request to Interpol on August 27 last year to put Cheng on its wanted list.
Cheng was last week included among the 100 financial fugitives whose photos and details were released by the CCDI as part of the graft-busting Operation Skynet. Reports emerged last week that Ching and Cheng were the same person.
Michael Ching (top left) at a 2011 event in Richmond, British Columbia, to greet Michael Ignatieff (front centre), then leader of Canada's opposition Liberal Party.
Ching's representatives have refused to discuss the matter. But photographs of Ching at a 2011 Liberal Party event in Richmond near Vancouver appear to show the same baby-faced man whose face is also in the Interpol's Red Notice online at http://www.interpol.int/notice/search/wanted/2013-69912 The images show a man with the same distinct mole on his right eyebrow ridge.
Amy Venhuizen, Ching's executive assistant at Mo Yeung International Enterprise, told the Post on Monday that she could not comment on the allegations, and that she had not heard them before. She said she would ask Ching to respond, though she believed the accusations to be a "personal matter".
Ching is a well-known businessman in Vancouver whose company is behind major projects such as the massive International Trade Centre in Richmond, which is scheduled to open outside Vancouver's international airport in 2017.
The ITC is slated to include two high-rise office towers, a luxury 110-room Opus Hotel, as well as 34,000 sq ft of shops and restaurants.
An artist's impression of the International Trade Centre, scheduled for completion near Vancouver's international airport in Richmond in 2017. The project is being built by Michael Ching's Mo Yeung International Enterprise Ltd. Photo: SCMP Pictures
Ching attended the 2011 Richmond event in his capacity as a director and vice-president of the Canada Asia Pacific Business Association (CAPBA). Ching is also described as an "honorary adviser" to the CAPBA, a pro-business group that says it is dedicated to promoting trade and commerce between Canada and the Asia-Pacific region. All of its directors and office bearers are Chinese-Canadians.
CAPBA president Elsa Wong did not respond to a voicemail seeking comment on Ching.
When the Richmond hotel project was announced in May last year, Opus Hotel Corp president John Evans said of Ching: "We are thrilled to be working with Michael Ching of Mo Yeung - the leader in merging innovative lifestyle brands with the bricks-and-mortar of development." The Post has yet to receive a response from Evans seeking comment about his business associate.
Michael Ching (right) with fellow Canada Asia Pacific Business Association member Michael Lok in 2011. Photo: SCMP Picture
Although the Red Notice against Cheng Muyang does not explain explicitly the crimes of which he is accused, the CCDI described it as a "major corruption case". It lists his former positions as manager of the Beijing branch of an advertising company and director of an investment company.
The official Guang Ming Daily reported in 2004 that Cheng Muyang migrated to Hong Kong in 1993 - just two years after graduation. It was not clear how he obtained the right of abode. The report said that as a result of his father's help, Cheng, who started without any capital, made "several hundreds of millions" in less than 10 years. His first major business deal was with Northern Telecom Limited in Canada.
The Post has no evidence of Cheng's guilt or innocence.
Cheng Weigao, governor of Hebei Province, was investigated for corruption and subsequently expelled from the Communist Party in 2003. Photo: SCMP
The decision to release the list of 100 fugitives is believed to be an attempt to put public pressure on foreign police to pursue fugitives on China's behalf.
Cheng is among 26 fugitives on the CCDI list who are suspected of having fled to Canada. They include the so-called "ringtone king" Li Xiangdong, 49, a China Mobile executive who is reported to have absconded in 2010 with 400 to 600 million yuan.
Another is Wang Yanwei, 58, former chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference for Huadu district in Guangzhou. Wang, who is wanted for accepting bribes, reportedly fled from China to Canada in June 2013.
China and Canada do not have an extradition treaty, complicating Beijing's efforts to track down corruption suspects.
However, Beijing has managed to secure fugitives from Canada using other means. Most prominent of these was smuggler Lai Changxing , who also fled to Vancouver.
He was eventually deported because of his failed immigration status and after Beijing promised not to execute him. The Hong Kong passport Lai used to emigrate was revoked and a claim of refugee status was denied by Canadian authorities. He is serving a life prison term in China.
Michael Ching Mo Yeung (right) and Opus Hotel Corp president John Evans, toast the agreement to create an Opus hotel in Ching's International Trade Centre development near the Vancouver International Airport, in this image posted to Twitter by Evans on December 16. Photo: Twitter
Chinese corruption fugitive Cheng Muyang - who has been identified as Vancouver property developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung – is seeking refugee status in Canada as he seeks to evade mainland authorities.
Federal Court documents show that rejected refugee claimant Ching Mo Yeung has hired renowned human rights lawyer David Matas, who also represented smuggler Lai Changxing. Michael Ching uses “Mo Yeung” as his Chinese given name, according to documents related to land redevelopment in British Columbia and is the president and founder of Mo Yeung International Enterprise Ltd, a major Vancouver real estate firm. “Ching Mo Yeung” is the Cantonese variant of “Cheng Muyang”, the name under which he is being sought by Interpol.
Lai also claimed refugee status in Canada in a last-ditch bid to thwart mainland authorities; he failed, and is now serving a life sentence in China.
The South China Morning Post revealed yesterday that Cheng Muyang was Michael Ching. Photographs of Ching from 2011 show the same facial features seen on the man in an Interpol Red Notice, including a distinctive mole on the right eyebrow ridge. The Post’s findings were confirmed by Guo Guangyun, a former mid-ranking official who spent years exposing the Cheng family’s corruption.
Michael Ching Mo Yeung (left), pictured in 2011, and the image of Cheng Muyang that accompanies an Interpol Red Notice seeking his arrest. Note the identical mole on the right eyebrow ridge. Photos: SCMP Pictures
An extract from a local government submission filed in March by a British Columbia strata council, of which Michael Ching was a member, referring to him by the Chinese given name "Mo Yeung". Photo: SCMP Picture
Ching has refused to discuss the Post’s discovery of his identity, and calls to his office went unanswered on Wednesday.
Ching Mo Yeung, whose pursuit of Canadian citizenship has been winding its way through the Federal Court system since at least 2006, has managed to keep some details of his legal history sealed.
However, court listings show that the Federal Court in Winnipeg, where Matas is based, has scheduled a special hearing on June 23 for Ching Mo Yeung to challenge the rejection of his refugee claim.
The Post asked Matas to confirm that his client was Mo Yeung International’s Michael Ching. Matas was also asked to confirm that his client was also Cheng Muyang, as depicted in the Interpol Red Notice.
“I cannot respond to queries about clients without authorisation from clients,” said Matas in a carefully worded statement on Tuesday. “If I were to give this response only in cases where persons were clients, the response would become a confirmation that the person is my client. In order for confidentiality to be comprehensive, I cannot respond to the question whether someone is or is not my client, even if the person is not my client.
“I can inform you that, as a general practice, when I receive a media inquiry about a client, I do pass it on to the client.”
Human rights lawyer David Matas (left), with his former client, Lai Changxing in 2001. Photo: Handout
The Post has received no response from Matas’ client to its request for an interview.
Matas is a vocal critic of China’s government who in 2006 co-authored the Kilgour-Matas report on allegations of live organ harvesting in China. He has also condemned Canada’s 2011 decision to extradite Lai, who he portrayed as a scapegoat.
Cheng Muyang, 45, is the son of Hebei communist party chief Cheng Weigao, who was himself investigated for corruption and expelled from the party in 2003. He died in disgrace in 2010. Cheng Muyang was included last week on a list of 100 fugitives being sought by China’s Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI). Cheng Muyang emigrated to Hong Kong in 1993, according to state media. Accused of graft and concealing illegal asset transfers, he then fled to Canada in 2000, the CCDI said.
Ching Mo Yeung’s pursuit of a Canadian passport entered the Federal Courts on June 14, 2006, when lawyer Lawrence Wong filed an appeal in Vancouver against the failure of immigration authorities to have processed Ching’s citizenship application.
A database of case submissions mentions a July 2006 letter from Ching Mo Yeung, in which he refers to an “alleged investigation” that apparently delayed the decision on his application.
In August 2006, Wong filed a fresh application for judicial review of Ching Mo Yeung’s case, seeking a “mandamus” order from the court that CIC fulfil their obligation to process the application. The request was successful: In a ruling by Federal Court Judge Yves de Montigny, dated April 10, 2007, Canada’s immigration ministry was ordered to “make its best efforts to complete the processing of the application for citizenship on or before Aug 1, 2007.”
Michael Ching Mo Yeung (right), pictured in 2011 with Thomas Wu, past president of the Canada Asia Pacific Business Association. Photo: SCMP Picture
It was five years before Ching Mo Yeung’s case returned to court - and it became obvious that his citizenship application had failed. In April 2012, he launched another case, headed by prominent Toronto lawyer Rocco Galati. Listed as a defendant was Kashi Mattu a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board serving in the immigration appeal division.
But Ching Mo Yeung was apparently no closer to Canadian citizenship, because in January 2013, his case was back in Federal Court, with Galati filing a new application for a judicial review of a decision by the government’s immigration appeal division dated December 28, 2012. This was rejected by judge Michael Shore in May 2013.
It was around this time, during a separate action against Canada’s Minister of Public Safety, that Ching Mo Yeung successfully sought to file evidence in the form of a confidential affidavit that would “remain sealed and … may only be viewed by the judge assigned to hear the application, the respondent and counsel for the respondent”. Ching Mo Yeung was also allowed by Judge Michael Manson to file a confidential memorandum of fact about his case.
Ching Mo Yeung then applied for refugee status, in either 2013 or 2014.
And on August 27, 2014, Interpol issued its Red Notice seeking the arrest of fugitive Cheng Muyang.
Less than three months later, Ching Mo Yeung’s application for refugee status was rejected, subsequent court action demonstrates.
On November 21 last year, with Matas now serving as his solicitor, Ching Mo Yeung sought a judicial review “against a decision [by the] Refugee Protection Division, Immigration and Refugee Board, decision dated 04-Nov-2014”, the federal court database shows. Judge James Russell granted the request and scheduled the June 23 special sitting in Winnipeg.
Guo Guangyun says he was elated when the mugshot of the man that had eluded him for so many years appeared on the nightly news. Nearly two decades had gone by since they last crossed paths, but he recognised the man as Cheng Muyang, now wanted in Beijing for corruption.
Guo, 73, ended up in a labour camp after trying to expose the Cheng family's dealings. "When my wife and I saw his portrait on a late-night news programme on Hebei Television we were both thrilled," he told the South China Morning Post.
Cheng is among 100 people targeted under Operation Skynet, Beijing's global hunt to locate suspected economic fugitives and return them home to face justice.
The photo of Cheng, 45, that China posted with Interpol matched recent ones of prominent Vancouver real estate developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung, Guo told the Post. Representatives of the businessman's company refused to comment on the allegations.
In the mid-1990s, Guo, then a mid-ranking official in Hebei province, sent an anonymous letter to authorities with evidence he had collected against the family patriarch, Cheng Weigao - the Communist Party's top man in the province at the time.
Guo claimed Cheng Weigao had abused his position to arrange favours for his family and other associates. But a copy of the letter found its way to the well-connected Cheng Weigao, reportedly a close ally of then-president Jiang Zemin , and Guo was prosecuted for slandering a government official.
In an interview with the Post in 2003, Guo recalled the ordeal. "A dozen lights were kept burning in the room where I was held. I wasn't allowed to sleep. I was interrogated twice a day. They wanted me to admit I had written the letter. I was threatened and harassed. I grew feverish and weak."
When the case went to trial, Guo was found innocent. But instead of being freed he was dismissed from the party and "re-educated" in a labour camp.
"I was at my weakest then," he said. "There were two attempts made on my life while in the labour camp."
Guo suspected official involvement in the attacks. He was held for a total of 15 months.
In 2003, Cheng Weigao was expelled from the party for corruption, and Guo received an official apology from the party and was reinstated as a member.
"Cheng ]Weigao]'s problem was not only about corruption," Guo said.
"He also abused his power in promoting or demoting officials. Only those close or loyal to him were promoted. He was like an emperor."
Guo said he would "love" to see Cheng Muyang brought back to China for trial. "At the time I suggested to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection to put the son under surveillance because he had done many illegal things. Unfortunately, his father got wind of it and managed to arrange his escape," he said.
Vancouver property developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung, who was last week identified as Chinese fugitive Cheng Muyang, has broken his silence. Photos: SCMP Pictures
Vancouver property developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung, who was last week identified as Chinese fugitive Cheng Muyang, has broken his silence to admit that he is wanted on corruption charges in the mainland but denies he is guilty.
In a statement issued to Canadian media over the weekend, Ching’s lawyer David Lunny said his client “had no involvement whatsoever in any graft or corruption”.
“He did not flee from anything and he has never been in hiding,” said the statement.
“He was not then and is not now a fugitive. The accusations which are now made against him by the Chinese government and repeated in the media here are without foundation and they emanated only after a change in the leadership of the Chinese political regime. Anyone familiar with the inadequacies and failings of the criminal justice system in China would certainly endorse his reluctance to place himself at its mercy.”
Ching – a prominent businessman in Vancouver who became a permanent resident of Canada in 1996 but has long been denied Canadian citizenship – was last Wednesday identified by the South China Morning Post as Cheng Muyang.
Ching, 45, is the son of Cheng Weigao, the powerful Hebei province leader who was expelled from the Communist Party in 2003 after a corruption investigation. He died in 2010.
Ching was last week included by China on a list of 100 international corruption fugitives, listed in an Interpol Red Notice under the name “Cheng Muyang”. He is accused of graft and illegal asset transfers; the Post has no evidence of his guilt or innocence. He is currently seeking asylum in Canada as a refugee.
The statement from Ching – who has failed to respond to requests for an interview that the Post lodged with both his personal assistant and the lawyer dealing with his asylum case – said the allegations against him were “false and hurtful”.
It also said that “contrary to certain defamatory assertions otherwise, the Canadian Citizenship and Immigration department did not issue a statement last week accusing Mr Ching of wrongdoing of any kind”.
However, the Post last week reported on such a statement, issued by Sonia Lesage, a media relations spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Asked in an email for CIC’s comment on Ching’s case, and his assertions in a lawsuit that his immigration case had been dealt with unfairly, Lesage responded in writing with “the Department’s statement”.
“Canadians are generous and welcoming people, but they have no tolerance for criminals and fraudsters abusing our generosity,” it said.
“Once individuals have exhausted all legal avenues, we expect them to respect our immigration laws and leave Canada, or to be removed.”
The statement then included a link to the Federal Court database, showing that a 2013 application by Ching for judicial review of a decision by Canada’s immigration and refugee board’s appeal division had been rejected by judge Michel Shore.
Ching’s statement referred to him as an “exemplary and upright member of the Canadian community”.
“By dint of his own efforts and ability, from small beginnings, he has been successful in developing and constructing more than 10 projects in the Lower Mainland with more underway or in the planning stage. Without fanfare, he has also devoted much of his time and efforts to the welfare of the community,” it said.
The statement also alluded to Ching’s political activities in Canada.
“He has provided support to various political parties in Canada at all levels of government - municipal, provincial and federal - and to both the Conservative party and the Liberal party. Mr Ching strongly believes in Canadian democratic values and has a firm confidence in the rule of law in Canada.”
Ching, president of Mo Yeung International Enterprise Ltd, would make no further comments, the statement concluded.
The businessman has hired human rights lawyer David Matas to argue that he deserves refugee status, with a hearing set for June. Matas was also the lawyer for smuggler Lai Changxing, who lost his claim for asylum, was deported, and is now serving a life sentence in China.
On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: “No matter where the corrupts [sic] flee, the Chinese side will bring them to justice. Absconders like Cheng Muyang are bound to receive due punishment.”
Re: Major Vancouver property developer is a Chinese corruption suspect wanted by Inte
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 07 May, 2015, 7:42am
UPDATED : Thursday, 07 May, 2015, 11:29am
Why China is so determined to get Ching Mo Yeung – and why he’s so desperate to stay in Canada
The Hebei corruption scandal that brought down Ching’s father saw one man executed and another jailed for life
Ian Young in Vancouver
Li Zhen (main picture), the former secretary of Hebei leader Cheng Weigao, was executed for corruption in 2004. Inset is Cheng's son, Michael Ching Mo Yeung. Photo: Xinhua, SCMP
It’s been more than a week now since the South China Morning Post revealed that Chinese corruption fugitive Cheng Muyang has been living a prosperous (and, it turns out, politically active) life as Vancouver businessman Michael Ching Mo Yeung.
Canadian media have mainly depicted Ching as an alleged white-collar criminal, but this does not do justice to Beijing’s interest in him. In China, Cheng Muyang is better known as the long-sought son of the late Hebei governor and provincial Communist Party chief Cheng Weigao – a major figure in the extensive annals of Chinese political corruption.
Cheng Weigao himself was never actually convicted of anything, though he was expelled from the party in 2003 and branded “degenerate” by state media at the time.
“He allegedly used his influence to enable his wife and children to engage in illegal activities, accept valuable gifts as bribes, and connive with his two secretaries to commit crimes,” the People’s Daily said in 2003.
It’s important here to note that the South China Morning Post has no proof of Michael Ching Mo Yeung’s guilt or innocence. But it is also important to note the unproven Chinese stance on Ching’s father to understand why such apparent importance has been attached to the pursuit of his son, now a Vancouver property developer who stands accused of graft and illegally transferring assets. Michael Ching Mo Yeung has been a permanent resident of Canada since 1996; he is currently battling for refugee status to avoid deportation to China, having long been denied Canadian citizenship.
The downfall of Cheng Weigao sparked one of China's biggest corruption scandals. Two of his secretaries were convicted of corruption and received death sentences, although one was spared and instead received a life prison term. Picture on the right is his son, Michael Ching Mo Yeung. Photos: SCMP Pictures
“No matter where the corrupts [sic] flee, the Chinese side will bring them to justice. Absconders like Cheng Muyang are bound to receive due punishment,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei last week. The fact that China’s dour Foreign Ministry would devote an official response to the identification of Ching as Cheng in a daily briefing is significant – again, it speaks not to Ching’s guilt or innocence, but to the official attitude in Beijing.
The fate of those who surrounded Cheng Weigao during his tenure in Hebei - where he was governor from 1991-1993, then party secretary from 1993-1998 - makes for rather grim reading. Their crimes mainly centre on bribery and kickback schemes involving housing and construction in the northern province.
On November 13, 2003, Cheng Weigao’s former secretary Li Zhen was executed for graft and embezzlement. A central figure in the scandal, Li had been convicted of taking bribes worth 8.14 million yuan and embezzling cash and property worth 2.7 million yuan. In addition, he was convicted of collaborating in the embezzlement of a further 48 million yuan.
It was supposedly the biggest Chinese state corruption case in value at the time.
Li’s predecessor as Cheng’s secretary, Wu Qingwu, was also handed a death sentence, albeit suspended after two years to life imprisonment; according to the well-regarded Chinese magazine Lifeweek, when Wu wanted to leave Cheng’s office to enter the private sector, Li promised that he would favour Wu’s interests once he assumed Wu’s job. Li, who went on to head Hebei’s tax office, would later strike the same deal with his own successor, Lifeweek reported.
Dozens of other officials, senior and junior, were convicted of various roles in the Hebei scandal and were handed hefty sentences. The deputy chief of the provincial construction committee, Li Shanlin, was sentenced to 14 years; the former mayor of Shijiazhuang, Zhang Erchen, was jailed for 10 years.
Cheng Weigao’s daughter, Cheng Youlan, was meanwhile jailed in 2004 for three years and fined 7 million yuan for evading taxes worth 1.77 million at the advertising firm where she was president and CFO. It’s this case which now forms the basis of part of the Chinese case against her brother, Michael Ching Mo Yeung, who was allegedly the manager of the advertising firm and supposedly party to the scheme to falsify company documents. He has failed to respond to multiple requests for an interview, although his lawyer issued a statement over the weekend denying all wrongdoing.
It’s clear from all of this that Michael Ching Mo Yeung is unlikely to be regarded by Beijing like any other mere suspect in a middling white-collar crime. And it’s not surprising that he is fighting tooth and nail to stay in Canada.
As for Cheng Weigao, Chinese investigators finally decided in 2006 not to charge the elderly former cadre - a reported ally of former president Jiang Zemin. At the time, “we have not found Cheng Weigao should shoulder criminal responsibilities,” said Gan Yisheng, secretary-general of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the powerful party organisation now hunting his son. But “we ... punished him in accordance with our party and political disciplines” added Gan. Cheng died in ignominy in 2010, at the age of 77.
