Vice Premier Wang Qishan is the chief of China's anti-corruption watchdog. (Photo : Getty Images)
China's anti-corruption drive is reaching out to countries around the world in the hope to catch fugitives who are escaping corruption charges.
The Chinese government has tried to get the cooperation of other countries. China has been convincing other nations to sign an extradition treaty.
However, there are countries who are still unconvinced because of China's notorious reputation on human rights abuses. These countries believe that supporting an extradition treaty will mean death to officials accused of corruption.
China now wants to use other options for capturing the fugitives who are hiding in different parts of the world. According to Zhuang Deshui, director of Peking University's anti-corruption study center, the Chinese government has other means, and the extradition treaty is just one of many.
He said, "If the treaty can't be signed in the near future, there are other options, like return by persuasion, illegal immigration and other judicial cooperation. . . . When this gate is not open, we can try the window, and if windows are not open, we can try digging holes."
There have been 47,650 officials that were investigated. The total number includes 21 ministers.
This week, Communist Party officials were mandated to study the confessions of these officials as a part of training for interrogation work. Anti-corruption officials from China are trained to convince relatives to turn in suspected criminals.
The government has launched various anti-corruption operations called Operation Fox Hunt, which has resulted in the return of 951 fugitives to China since 2014. Out of the total, eight have been extradited and 19 were registered by the Interpol.
Another manhunt called Operation Skynet led to the return of 1,032 fugitives from 70 countries. There were 39 officials arrested out of the top 100 most wanted.
China's anti-corruption drive is spearheaded by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection under Vice Premier Wang Qishan.
