Anti-graft fight yields significant results

OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS, the national anti-graft campaign launched after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in October 2012, has reportedly brought home some 3,317 corrupt fugitives from overseas to face justice and retrieved assets of more than 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion). The Mirror commented on Saturday:

The hard-won achievements in the hunt for corrupt officials that have fled overseas offer a glimpse into China's resolve to combat corruption on every front. Unlike violent criminals, corrupt fugitives normally refrain from engaging in illegal activities after fleeing to other countries, and some of the very rich will even help the local economy with their illegal gains. That is probably why their "host" countries have found little incentive to assist Chinese law enforcers and extraditing these fugitives from justice.

Whether China's extradition requests are approved largely depends to what degree the relevant countries are willing to cooperate, since the international law does not make extradition a duty of sovereign states. Only those with extradition treaties with China, 48 countries as of January, will whole-heartedly assist Chinese enforcers with the "Fox Hunt" campaign.