U.S. Hands Corruption Suspect Back to China

First time a suspected criminal wanted by Chinese authorities has been returned since 2004

ENLARGE
Policemen escort repatriated Yang Jinjun in Fuzhou on Friday. Mr. Yang fled to the U.S. in 2001. He is suspected by Chinese authorities of corruption. PHOTO: YIN GANG/XINHUA/ZUMA PRESS



By JAMES T. AREDDY in Shanghai and
DAMIAN PALETTA in Washington
Updated Sept. 18, 2015 4:31 p.m. ET12 COMMENTS

The U.S. government honored an extradition request from China for the first time in at least a decade on Friday, a week before Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Washington.

Officials at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that Yang Jinjun, who is wanted in China on unspecified graft charges, was among eight Chinese nationals the agency sent back via a chartered flight.

The agency wouldn't identify the others, but authorities described them all as established criminals.

“Each of the individuals removed was subject to a final order of removal,” said Pedro Ribeiro, an assistant director at ICE. “These individuals are among ICE’s priorities for immigration enforcement due to their serious criminal histories.”

A Chinese government statement issued earlier mentioned only Mr. Yang, whom it said had been “forcibly” returned following a lengthy period of cooperation by law enforcement in the U.S. and China so he can face corruption charges.

Chinese television showed Mr. Yang on the tarmac of an airport in the southeastern city Fuzhou, where he had flown to aboard a chartered jet that the state broadcaster said had arrived from Arizona.

With his hands cuffed and officers gripping his shoulders, Mr. Yang looked down as he was formally arrested; any comments he made weren’t broadcast.

Mr. Ribeiro said the move wasn’t connected to the coming visit by Mr. Xi. “This has been in the works for some time,” he said.

Still, the U.S. move is likely to be seen by Beijing as an act of goodwill ahead of the visit, particularly as the White House exerts pressure on the Chinese leader in a number of other areas.

President Barack Obama has said he intends to press Mr. Xi on allegations that Chinese computer hackers are regularly stealing information from U.S. companies, and the two countries have also been at odds over China’s sovereignty claims in the South China Sea.

These conflicts have forced the administration into a balancing act in advance of the visit, seeking to reach out to the powerful country without conceding on important diplomatic issues. Some Republicans have criticized Mr. Obama’s plans to hold a state dinner with Mr. Xi next Friday, especially after recent actions by China to devalue its currency.

In his nearly three years in power, Mr. Xi has made the fight against corruption his signature issue. But until now the U.S. hadn’t responded to his request for assistance in apprehending corruption suspects hiding overseas.

Concern about limited information flows from China, including how suspects are treated by its legal system, has made U.S. officials reluctant to honor most Chinese extradition requests. The two countries lack an extradition treaty, and the previous handover occurred in 2004.

U.S. officials say they are stepping up cooperation because they have no intention of harboring foreign criminal suspects or tainted money. They also are looking for China’s cooperation in fighting tax evasion and money laundering.

But they also express disappointment that Beijing hasn’t acted on some of their requests, such as expediting the return to China of nearly 39,000 Chinese citizens the U.S. alleges are in the country illegally.

Mismatched agendas have produced dueling lists of priority cases.
Shortly before Mr. Obama visited Beijing last year, for instance, Chinese officials privately asked the U.S. to hand over 100 “fugitives.” In April, China’s government went public with a list that included about 35 people in the U.S. including the Yangs, whom China has sought since 2005 through notices filed with Interpol.

Long-running U.S. frustrations revolve around Chinese immigrants who have run afoul of visa rules or been convicted of crimes. Beijing has for years declined to take steps that would allow them to be deported, such as issuing travel documents, despite at least one agreement the U.S. announced in 2006 aimed at expediting action.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in recent months detained 33 people whom they considered most likely to get the necessary papers, but most have since been released, said a spokeswoman for ICE, Jennifer Elzea.

“None of these individuals have yet been removed, as the Chinese have not yet issued travel documents for those who were verified as Chinese nationals,” she said.

Other action points to more progress in cross-border law enforcement.

In March, the U.S. Justice Department indicted a former Chinese official following a joint investigation into his alleged theft from granaries he ran before fleeing to the U.S.

The U.S. charges, which also target the man’s ex-wife, relate to alleged lying on federal forms, which could be grounds for deportation. Neither the former official, nor his ex-wife, nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.

Chinese authorities have disclosed few details about Mr. Yang, but they say he fled in 2001 along with his sister, a former bureaucrat in the southeastern city Wenzhou, who is the prime suspect in a celebrated corruption case involving government construction funds.

U.S. authorities say they have been holding the sister, Yang Xiuzhu, for more than a year in preparation for her expected deportation to China. Lawyers for the pair couldn’t be reached for comment, and U.S. officials involved in the matter couldn’t immediately be reached for comment either.

Among those on hand to meet Mr. Yang in Fuzhou was Liu Jianchao,an English-speaking former Foreign Ministry official who this month was named deputy head of China’s National Bureau of Corruption Prevention. He is expected to take a leading role in international fugitive issues.

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