CHINA-CORRUPTION/YANG FILE Ex-Chinese official, wanted for graft, applies for U.S. asylum

Record ID: 150952

  • Title: CHINA-CORRUPTION/YANG FILE Ex-Chinese official, wanted for graft, applies for U.S. asylum
  • Date: 12th June 2015
  • Summary: KEARNEY, NEW JERSEY, UNITED STATES (MAY 28, 2015) (REUTERS) HUDSON COUNTY CORRECTIONAL FACILITY FLAGS FLYING OUTSIDE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY SIGN OVER DOOR AT FACILITY GUARD TOWER AND BARBED WIRE OUTSIDE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY VARIOUS OF CORRECTIONAL FACILITY
  • Embargoed: 27th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA7OFFGFYZ69GDBM6F3QA7OFJRU
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A former senior Chinese official, who went into hiding after being sought by anti-corruption investigators, has applied for asylum in the United States where she has been detained, state media said on Thursday (June 11).
    Yang Xiuzhu, a former deputy mayor of Wenzhou in the booming eastern province of Zhejiang, was taken into custody in the United States last month.
    China's official Xinhua news agency said that Yang, at the top of a Chinese list of 100 suspected corrupt people believed to be abroad and subject to an Interpol "red notice", made the asylum application in a New York court.
    Xinhua said its reporter saw Yang dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit, with her hair cut short and a "puffy" face.
    Reuters was not able to contact Yang's lawyer after office hours in the United States.
    Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that China and the United States had had "good cooperation" in fighting corruption.
    The case comes as China pushes for talks with the United States on an extradition treaty, which would be a big boost for China's anti-corruption campaign.
    Yang first fled to Singapore in 2003 before changing her name and flying to New York.
    She was eventually detained in Amsterdam in 2005, where China was not able to gain custody of her, despite protracted negotiations with the Netherlands.
    It is not clear how Yang ended up in the United States.
    President Xi Jinping has launched a sweeping campaign against graft since assuming power in 2013, but has been hampered to an extent by difficulty in getting corrupt officials and assets back from overseas.
    China does not have extradition treaties with the United States or Canada - the two most popular destinations for suspected economic criminals. It also does not have an extradition treaty with the Netherlands.
    Western countries have balked at signing extradition deals with China, partly out of concern about the integrity of its judicial system and treatment of prisoners. Rights groups say Chinese authorities use torture and that the death penalty is common in corruption cases.
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