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On November 8， a new international organization went into operation in Beijing， with its secretariat being housed in the Ministry of Supervision of China.
On that day， upon the conclusion of the 26th APEC Ministerial Meeting in Beijing， Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters that the meeting adopted the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption and established an APEC Network of AntiCorruption Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies （ACT-NET）.
In the declaration， APEC members reaffirmed that they will deny safe havens to those engaged in corruption and cooperate with one another through extradition， legal assistance， and the recovery and return of illgotten gains. They will adopt more flexible approaches to recovering the proceeds of corruption， and expedite international cooperation in the prevention， investigation and prosecution of graft.
It states that the ACT-NET is to be developed as “an informal network for sharing information and exchanging best practices and techniques between anti-corruption and law enforcement authorities in the AsiaPacific region， to assist in the detection， investigation and prosecution of corruption， bribery， money laundering， and illicit trade.”
The ACT-NET secretariat handles the network’s daily administrative tasks. China will serve as the initial host of the office in 2014-15. Members will review the future hosting of the office at the next meeting in 2015. The ACT-NET Chair will be assumed on a rotational basis by the hosting economy of the APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Working Group.
These moves mark a new stage in APEC members’ joint efforts to battle corruption as well as for China’s own internal anti-corruption campaign.
Leaders and representatives of the 21 APEC economies have reached consensus in hunting down fugitives at large， recovering their illegally obtained assets and expanding law enforcement cooperation， Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a press conference after the APEC Economic Leaders’Meeting that closed on November 11.
APEC economies have agreed to put aside political and ideological differences to combat corruption， said Gao Bo， Vice Secretary General of Clean Government Studies Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“By promoting the establishment of the ACT-NET， China has sent a signal to strengthen international cooperation and cut off the escape routes for corrupt officials， which acts as a powerful deterrent to them，” said Zhou Shuzhen， a professor in clean-governance research at Beijing-based Renmin University of China. A new focus
China has launched an intense campaign to“hunt tigers and swat flies” since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC） in November 2012 when Xi became general secretary of the Party. The campaign has snared high-ranking officials such as Bo Xilai， former Secretary of the CPC’s Chongqing Municipal Committee， Zhou Yongkang， former Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee， Xu Caihou， former Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission and many lower-ranking ones as well as some executives of state-owned enterprises.
Recently， more and more attention has been paid to tracking down corrupt officials that have fled overseas.
In November， Xi talked about international anti-corruption cooperation during a number of global meetings， including the G20 Summit and APEC Economic Leaders’Meeting.
At the G20 Leaders’ Summit held in Brisbane， Australia， leaders endorsed a 2015-16 G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan， pledging to build cooperation and networks， including enhancing mutual legal assistance， recovery of the proceeds of corruption and denial of safe havens to corrupt officials.
Xi mentioned international cooperation in anti-corruption measures such as hunting down fugitives and recovering their assets while meeting U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during their respective visits to China on the sideline of the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Xi also discussed the same topic during his visits to Australia， New Zealand and Fiji around the time of the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
Earlier this year， the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection（CCDI）， the country’s top corruption watchdog， had already turned its gaze overseas. In January， Wang Qishan， head of the commission， delivered the organization’s work report， stressing that efforts in tracking down fugitive corrupt officials overseas and recovering stolen money should be intensified， so as to deter those attempting to flee.
The CPC Central Committee issued notices stipulating that officials whose spouses， or those who do not have spouses but whose children have emigrated to other countries， cannot be promoted to or hold certain positions. The Party hopes to prevent corruption as such officials are believed to be more likely to flee.
China launched an operation codenamed Fox Hunt 2014 in July to hunt corrupt officials and suspects in economic crimes that had already fled the country. The goal was to “block the last route of retreat” for corrupt officials. According to data released by the Ministry of Public Security （MPS）， as of December 4， 428 suspects had been apprehended in 60 countries and regions. Thirtytwo fugitives had been at large for more than a decade， and 231 voluntarily surrendered themselves to police.
In October， Chinese judicial and public security authorities issued an ultimatum to criminals hiding abroad， including corrupt officials， urging them to give themselves up before December 1 in order to receive more lenient sentences.
Preliminary estimations by The Beijing News speculate that as of December 1， at least 335 fugitive economic criminals had been captured abroad， and of these， 154 had given themselves up to police.
On September 16， China joined the International Anti-Corruption Academy， an Austria-based institution providing anticorruption education and research.
International response
China has called for more international cooperation in combating graft， including initiating the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption. This has been supported by a number of countries.
Nations including Australia， Canada and the United States have sent a signal that the Asia-Pacific region is united against corruption by signing the declaration， said Tang Guoqiang， Chairman of China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation， a member committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.
“Criminals don’t stop at borders， so we must work together to stop them and fight graft internationally as well，” said Max Baucus， U.S. Ambassador to China during an APEC meeting held in Beijing in November.
He said whether it is bribery， embezzlement， or the misuse of public funds， corruption is corrosive. It scares investors， stifles economic growth， decreases investment and trade， and costs jobs for people in all economies.
Recently， Australia agreed to assist China in capturing fugitives. The two countries’ law enforcement authorities have agreed on a priority list of fugitives， who have taken residence in Australia with embezzled funds amounting to hundreds of millions of Australian dollars， Bruce Hill， Manager of the Australian Federal Police’s Operations in Asia， told the Sydney Morning Herald.
China and Australia have already signed an extradition treaty， but it has not yet been ratified by the Australian Parliament. During President Xi’s recent state visit to Australia， the Australian side said it would accelerate the ratification process， said Xu Hong， Director of the Treaty and Law Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， at a press briefing on November 26. Asian-Pacific economies are major destinations for corrupt officials fleeing abroad， especially the United States， Canada and Australia， none of which have signed or ratified extradition treaties with China， said Li
Chengyan， a professor with Peking University.
“The United States has become the top destination for Chinese fugitives fleeing the law，” said Liao Jinrong， Director General of the International Cooperation Bureau under the MPS.
Canada is also regarded as a haven for corrupt officials， who sometimes fly in with suitcases full of cash， according to China Daily. It reported that Toronto and Vancouver airports seized around $13 million in undeclared cash from Chinese nationals from April 2011 to early June 2012.
Some corrupt officials chose Hong Kong， Malaysia， Singapore or other Pacific islands as the initial stops of their escape routes， after obtaining false identities， then transferred to other destinations， said Wang Yukai， a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance.
Costs of corruption
“Corruption impedes economic sustainability and development， threatens social security and fairness， undermines the rule of law， and erodes government accountability， as well as public trust，” reads the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption.
Every year， corruption costs the world more than $2.6 trillion， and increases the costs of doing business by more than 10 percent， estimated the World Bank.
There are no official data on how much corruption costs China every year， nor how much dirty money has been taken out of the country.
Washington-based Global Financial Integrity Group， a non-profit organization that analyses illicit financial flow， estimated that $1.08 trillion was transferred out of China illegally between 2002 and 2011.
Cao Jianming， Procurator General of the Chinese People’s Supreme Procuratorate， said in October 2013 that 6，694 suspects of embezzlement and bribery who fled overseas had been captured within the last five years， according to Xinhua News Agency.
Beijing-based China Economic Weekly reported that in January 2010， Li Yubin， Deputy Secretary of the CCDI， said at a news conference that in recent 30 years， 4，000 officials had fled abroad， each taking an average of 100 million yuan （$16.1 million） with them.
Yang Xiuzhu， former Vice Mayor of Wenzhou， east China’s Zhejiang Province， oversaw construction projects in the prosperous city in the 1990s. During that time， she raked in enough money to buy a five-story building worth $5 million in midtown Manhattan in 1996. She was found to have embezzled a total of more than 253.2 million yuan （$41.26 million）， according to China Daily. In 2003， she escaped to the United States via Singapore when her brother was investigated for corruption. She was arrested in the Netherlands in 2005 after Interpol issued an international arrest warrant against her at the request of China.
In September 2014， procedures to extradite her were started， which is part of the Fox Hunt 2014 operation.
Progress amid difficulties
Ever since corrupt officials began to flee abroad， China has been engaged in efforts to bring them back to justice by negotiating mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties with foreign countries.
So far， China has concluded 39 extradition treaties and 52 criminal judicial assistance treaties with other countries， of which 29 extradition treaties and 46 criminal judicial assistance treaties are already in force， Xu said.
China also joined multilateral treaties such as the UN Convention Against Corruption， which the country ratified in 2005.
Due to a lack of understanding of China’s legal system， countries like the United States and Canada were “passive” when it came to signing extradition treaties with China， Xu said.
U.S. laws state that only through a treaty can two countries cooperate on extradition. Even the UN Convention Against Corruption cannot serve as the legal basis for extradi- tion. At present， the United States seems not to be ready for such a treaty， Xu said.
In absence of any extradition treaty， China has to resort to alternative measures such as repatriation or suing suspects in foreign courts.
In 2004， Washington repatriated Yu Zhendong， a bank official suspected of embezzling hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars， reported Xinhua.
In 2011， a court in Queensland， Australia， sentenced Li Jixiang， former Manager of Nanhai Zhiye， a state-owned real estate company， to 26 years in prison for abuses of power， accepting bribes and misappropriating public funds. He had illegally transferred 40 million yuan （$6.5 million） abroad， and more than 30 million yuan （$4.8 million） had been recovered， said Guangdong Provincial People’s Procuratorate.
Since many fugitives fled to North America using counterfeit identity documents， China is able to appeal to authorities on the grounds that the fugitives are illegal immigrants， Huang Feng， Director of the Institute for International Criminal Law at Beijing Normal University， told Global Times newspaper.
Both methods require lots of evidence the Chinese Government would find very difficult to collect， because the suspects have already covered their tracks in most cases. The complicated process of collecting evidence slows down legal proceedings， so it has sometimes taken more than a decade to finalize the repatriation process.
The repatriation of smuggler Lai Changxing from Canada back to China took 12 years.
The newly established ACT-NET is expected to strengthen information sharing and judicial cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region， and make it easier for China to net fugitives overseas.
Zhuang Shuide， a professor with Peking University， said that ACT-NET will enable countries to offer assistance in the investigation and tracking down of suspects. All China has to do is to provide a list of their names.
On that day， upon the conclusion of the 26th APEC Ministerial Meeting in Beijing， Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters that the meeting adopted the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption and established an APEC Network of AntiCorruption Authorities and Law Enforcement Agencies （ACT-NET）.
In the declaration， APEC members reaffirmed that they will deny safe havens to those engaged in corruption and cooperate with one another through extradition， legal assistance， and the recovery and return of illgotten gains. They will adopt more flexible approaches to recovering the proceeds of corruption， and expedite international cooperation in the prevention， investigation and prosecution of graft.
It states that the ACT-NET is to be developed as “an informal network for sharing information and exchanging best practices and techniques between anti-corruption and law enforcement authorities in the AsiaPacific region， to assist in the detection， investigation and prosecution of corruption， bribery， money laundering， and illicit trade.”
The ACT-NET secretariat handles the network’s daily administrative tasks. China will serve as the initial host of the office in 2014-15. Members will review the future hosting of the office at the next meeting in 2015. The ACT-NET Chair will be assumed on a rotational basis by the hosting economy of the APEC Anti-Corruption and Transparency Working Group.
These moves mark a new stage in APEC members’ joint efforts to battle corruption as well as for China’s own internal anti-corruption campaign.
Leaders and representatives of the 21 APEC economies have reached consensus in hunting down fugitives at large， recovering their illegally obtained assets and expanding law enforcement cooperation， Chinese President Xi Jinping said at a press conference after the APEC Economic Leaders’Meeting that closed on November 11.
APEC economies have agreed to put aside political and ideological differences to combat corruption， said Gao Bo， Vice Secretary General of Clean Government Studies Center under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
“By promoting the establishment of the ACT-NET， China has sent a signal to strengthen international cooperation and cut off the escape routes for corrupt officials， which acts as a powerful deterrent to them，” said Zhou Shuzhen， a professor in clean-governance research at Beijing-based Renmin University of China. A new focus
China has launched an intense campaign to“hunt tigers and swat flies” since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China （CPC） in November 2012 when Xi became general secretary of the Party. The campaign has snared high-ranking officials such as Bo Xilai， former Secretary of the CPC’s Chongqing Municipal Committee， Zhou Yongkang， former Standing Committee member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee， Xu Caihou， former Vice Chairman of the CPC Central Military Commission and many lower-ranking ones as well as some executives of state-owned enterprises.
Recently， more and more attention has been paid to tracking down corrupt officials that have fled overseas.
In November， Xi talked about international anti-corruption cooperation during a number of global meetings， including the G20 Summit and APEC Economic Leaders’Meeting.
At the G20 Leaders’ Summit held in Brisbane， Australia， leaders endorsed a 2015-16 G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan， pledging to build cooperation and networks， including enhancing mutual legal assistance， recovery of the proceeds of corruption and denial of safe havens to corrupt officials.
Xi mentioned international cooperation in anti-corruption measures such as hunting down fugitives and recovering their assets while meeting U.S. President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper during their respective visits to China on the sideline of the 2014 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting. Xi also discussed the same topic during his visits to Australia， New Zealand and Fiji around the time of the G20 Leaders’ Summit.
Earlier this year， the CPC Central Commission for Discipline Inspection（CCDI）， the country’s top corruption watchdog， had already turned its gaze overseas. In January， Wang Qishan， head of the commission， delivered the organization’s work report， stressing that efforts in tracking down fugitive corrupt officials overseas and recovering stolen money should be intensified， so as to deter those attempting to flee.
The CPC Central Committee issued notices stipulating that officials whose spouses， or those who do not have spouses but whose children have emigrated to other countries， cannot be promoted to or hold certain positions. The Party hopes to prevent corruption as such officials are believed to be more likely to flee.
China launched an operation codenamed Fox Hunt 2014 in July to hunt corrupt officials and suspects in economic crimes that had already fled the country. The goal was to “block the last route of retreat” for corrupt officials. According to data released by the Ministry of Public Security （MPS）， as of December 4， 428 suspects had been apprehended in 60 countries and regions. Thirtytwo fugitives had been at large for more than a decade， and 231 voluntarily surrendered themselves to police.
In October， Chinese judicial and public security authorities issued an ultimatum to criminals hiding abroad， including corrupt officials， urging them to give themselves up before December 1 in order to receive more lenient sentences.
Preliminary estimations by The Beijing News speculate that as of December 1， at least 335 fugitive economic criminals had been captured abroad， and of these， 154 had given themselves up to police.
On September 16， China joined the International Anti-Corruption Academy， an Austria-based institution providing anticorruption education and research.
International response
China has called for more international cooperation in combating graft， including initiating the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption. This has been supported by a number of countries.
Nations including Australia， Canada and the United States have sent a signal that the Asia-Pacific region is united against corruption by signing the declaration， said Tang Guoqiang， Chairman of China National Committee for Pacific Economic Cooperation， a member committee of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.
“Criminals don’t stop at borders， so we must work together to stop them and fight graft internationally as well，” said Max Baucus， U.S. Ambassador to China during an APEC meeting held in Beijing in November.
He said whether it is bribery， embezzlement， or the misuse of public funds， corruption is corrosive. It scares investors， stifles economic growth， decreases investment and trade， and costs jobs for people in all economies.
Recently， Australia agreed to assist China in capturing fugitives. The two countries’ law enforcement authorities have agreed on a priority list of fugitives， who have taken residence in Australia with embezzled funds amounting to hundreds of millions of Australian dollars， Bruce Hill， Manager of the Australian Federal Police’s Operations in Asia， told the Sydney Morning Herald.
China and Australia have already signed an extradition treaty， but it has not yet been ratified by the Australian Parliament. During President Xi’s recent state visit to Australia， the Australian side said it would accelerate the ratification process， said Xu Hong， Director of the Treaty and Law Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs， at a press briefing on November 26. Asian-Pacific economies are major destinations for corrupt officials fleeing abroad， especially the United States， Canada and Australia， none of which have signed or ratified extradition treaties with China， said Li
Chengyan， a professor with Peking University.
“The United States has become the top destination for Chinese fugitives fleeing the law，” said Liao Jinrong， Director General of the International Cooperation Bureau under the MPS.
Canada is also regarded as a haven for corrupt officials， who sometimes fly in with suitcases full of cash， according to China Daily. It reported that Toronto and Vancouver airports seized around $13 million in undeclared cash from Chinese nationals from April 2011 to early June 2012.
Some corrupt officials chose Hong Kong， Malaysia， Singapore or other Pacific islands as the initial stops of their escape routes， after obtaining false identities， then transferred to other destinations， said Wang Yukai， a professor with the Chinese Academy of Governance.
Costs of corruption
“Corruption impedes economic sustainability and development， threatens social security and fairness， undermines the rule of law， and erodes government accountability， as well as public trust，” reads the Beijing Declaration on Fighting Corruption.
Every year， corruption costs the world more than $2.6 trillion， and increases the costs of doing business by more than 10 percent， estimated the World Bank.
There are no official data on how much corruption costs China every year， nor how much dirty money has been taken out of the country.
Washington-based Global Financial Integrity Group， a non-profit organization that analyses illicit financial flow， estimated that $1.08 trillion was transferred out of China illegally between 2002 and 2011.
Cao Jianming， Procurator General of the Chinese People’s Supreme Procuratorate， said in October 2013 that 6，694 suspects of embezzlement and bribery who fled overseas had been captured within the last five years， according to Xinhua News Agency.
Beijing-based China Economic Weekly reported that in January 2010， Li Yubin， Deputy Secretary of the CCDI， said at a news conference that in recent 30 years， 4，000 officials had fled abroad， each taking an average of 100 million yuan （$16.1 million） with them.
Yang Xiuzhu， former Vice Mayor of Wenzhou， east China’s Zhejiang Province， oversaw construction projects in the prosperous city in the 1990s. During that time， she raked in enough money to buy a five-story building worth $5 million in midtown Manhattan in 1996. She was found to have embezzled a total of more than 253.2 million yuan （$41.26 million）， according to China Daily. In 2003， she escaped to the United States via Singapore when her brother was investigated for corruption. She was arrested in the Netherlands in 2005 after Interpol issued an international arrest warrant against her at the request of China.
In September 2014， procedures to extradite her were started， which is part of the Fox Hunt 2014 operation.
Progress amid difficulties
Ever since corrupt officials began to flee abroad， China has been engaged in efforts to bring them back to justice by negotiating mutual legal assistance and extradition treaties with foreign countries.
So far， China has concluded 39 extradition treaties and 52 criminal judicial assistance treaties with other countries， of which 29 extradition treaties and 46 criminal judicial assistance treaties are already in force， Xu said.
China also joined multilateral treaties such as the UN Convention Against Corruption， which the country ratified in 2005.
Due to a lack of understanding of China’s legal system， countries like the United States and Canada were “passive” when it came to signing extradition treaties with China， Xu said.
U.S. laws state that only through a treaty can two countries cooperate on extradition. Even the UN Convention Against Corruption cannot serve as the legal basis for extradi- tion. At present， the United States seems not to be ready for such a treaty， Xu said.
In absence of any extradition treaty， China has to resort to alternative measures such as repatriation or suing suspects in foreign courts.
In 2004， Washington repatriated Yu Zhendong， a bank official suspected of embezzling hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars， reported Xinhua.
In 2011， a court in Queensland， Australia， sentenced Li Jixiang， former Manager of Nanhai Zhiye， a state-owned real estate company， to 26 years in prison for abuses of power， accepting bribes and misappropriating public funds. He had illegally transferred 40 million yuan （$6.5 million） abroad， and more than 30 million yuan （$4.8 million） had been recovered， said Guangdong Provincial People’s Procuratorate.
Since many fugitives fled to North America using counterfeit identity documents， China is able to appeal to authorities on the grounds that the fugitives are illegal immigrants， Huang Feng， Director of the Institute for International Criminal Law at Beijing Normal University， told Global Times newspaper.
Both methods require lots of evidence the Chinese Government would find very difficult to collect， because the suspects have already covered their tracks in most cases. The complicated process of collecting evidence slows down legal proceedings， so it has sometimes taken more than a decade to finalize the repatriation process.
The repatriation of smuggler Lai Changxing from Canada back to China took 12 years.
The newly established ACT-NET is expected to strengthen information sharing and judicial cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region， and make it easier for China to net fugitives overseas.
Zhuang Shuide， a professor with Peking University， said that ACT-NET will enable countries to offer assistance in the investigation and tracking down of suspects. All China has to do is to provide a list of their names.