Hunts for fugitives to intensify

Download

Prosecutors nationwide will clamp down on corrupt officials this year and step up the hunt for those who have fled abroad, according to the top procurator.

Preventing suspects from fleeing the country and tracing those who have escaped are important measures for prosecutors in fighting graft, Cao Jianming, procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the country’s highest prosecution body, told China Daily.

For example, those suspected of duty-related crimes who might flee abroad will be banned more quickly from leaving China, and supervision will be tightened on officials, he said.

Duty-related crimes generally refer to offering and taking bribes and dereliction of duty. In China, the investigation and prosecution of such crimes are in the hands of procuratorial organs.

Cao said prosecutors will also work more closely with judicial organs abroad to expand channels and measures to hunt those who have fled and to recover ill-gotten gains.

Authorities will also start procedures to confiscate illegal assets of fugitives abroad. "Once evidence is sufficient, we'll initiate the confiscation procedure according to law.

Corruption has been a lingering problem in China. President Xi Jinping has warned that the fight against graft concerns the Communist Party of China’s survival and has called for tougher measures.

The top procuratorate says that 37,551 cases of duty-related crime were investigated last year, an increase of 9.4 percent from the previous year. The cases involved 51,306 people, 8.4 percent more than in 2017.

An annual report on China's rule of law published last month warned that more corrupt officials would flee abroad to escape punishment following the intensified efforts.

Questions:

1. Who is Cao Jianming?

2. Duty-related crimes generally refer to what kinds of misdeeds?

3. How many cases of duty-related crime were investigated last year?

Answers:

1. Procurator-general of the Supreme People's Procuratorate,

2. Offering and taking bribes and dereliction of duty.

3. 37,551.

About the broadcaster:

Anne Ruisi is an editor at China Daily online with more than 30 years of experience as a newspaper editor and reporter. She has worked at newspapers in the U.S., including The Birmingham News in Alabama and City Newspaper of Rochester, N.Y.