23.06.15 15:38 Age: 10 yrs

Mr. Lehman speaks on Extradition of China’s Corrupt Officials

June 15, 2015, Beijing – Mr. Edward Lehman recently appeared as Legal Analyst on CCTV’s Dialogue to discuss China’s efforts to corrupt official’s which have fled overseas. (Link here) A prominent case is that of Yang Xiuzhu who has recently been apprehended in the USA. Yang Xiuzhu, a senior official who oversaw construction projects in the booming eastern province of Zhejiang, is wanted by China for corruption. She fled China in 2003.

 

Western countries such as Australia, Canada and the USA are popular destinations for such Chinese fugitives. This is partly or primarily due to the fact that these countries do not have mutual extradition treaties with China. An extradition treaty is a agreement between two countries to return accused criminals to a country to stand trial for alleged crimes. Extradition treaties have not been forthcoming between such Western countries as China due to concerns over the fairness of the Chinese criminal system, and the reluctance to extradite criminals to countries where they may face the death penalty.

 

As part of President Xi Jinping’s Anti-Corruption Campaign, China has increasingly focused on the “Fox Hunt” to bring in corrupt officials which have fled the country to face justice in China.