Wanted list reveals nature of Chinese corruption

China has published a wanted list of 100 people it says are fugitives living overseas as it steps up efforts to seek international co-operation in its two-year anti-corruption campaign.

The list, containing suspects' names, mugshots and personal details including passport numbers, was published this week by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Communist party's extrajudicial anti-graft watchdog.

The body's officials have been seeking to repatriate people they accuse of economic crimes through "Operation Fox Hunt", launched last year, and "Operation Sky Net", which marked an escalation of the campaign when it was announced last month.

Many nations have been slow to respond to China's overtures because of concerns about the quality of evidence and the chances of a fair trial in the communist country, where 99.9 per cent of defendants are found guilty and the death penalty is widely used.

Last month, state media reported that more than 500 overseas fugitives had been brought home to face justice, with Rmb3bn ($500m) in ill-gotten gains recovered. But while a number of countries have signed extradition treaties with China they are not among the destinations of choice of the fugitives on the list.

The US is the number one fugitive-harbouring nation, according to the CCDI, hosting 40 of the wanted 100. Canada (26) and New Zealand (11) are the next most popular.

The list sheds light on the nature of corruption in China, where government offices come with the power to extort money by withholding approvals or granting favours. Most of the people on the list were officials with local government departments or executives with state-owned enterprises.

But some cases on the new list are more unusual. Bill Liu, also known as Liu Yang and Yan Yongming, was the head of Tonghua Golden Horse, a state-owned pharmaceuticals group in northeast China, when he moved to New Zealand in 2001. In 2012, Chinese authorities discovered TGH was using waste chemicals from tanning factories to make gelatin for pharmaceutical capsules.

Years later Chinese police sought his return on charges of embezzling $129m from the company, creating a political storm around the New Zealand official who authorised his citizenship. In 2012, Mr Liu was acquitted of charges of falsifying documents. His lawyer did not respond to requests for comment. He has told the New Zealand press that he is a pro-democracy dissident and a member of the banned spiritual movement, Falun Gong.

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