China’s Corruption Watchdog To Be Replaced In Bid For International Recognition

Beijing: The Chinese government will form a new anti-corruption agency as it seeks greater cooperation from international law enforcement bodies that have been reluctant to deal with the feared Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

The CCDI is a Communist Party internal discipline body that was formed when the party took power in China in 1949.

It had recently shot to prominence spearheading Chinese President Xi Jinping’s corruption crackdown on party officials, Operation Fox Hunt, as suspects had fled overseas to countries including Australia.

It is expected that a national law to establish the National Supervisory Commission will be approved by the 19th National People’s Congress, the five-yearly meeting of the Communist Party leadership, to be held on October 18.

The new body would sit above the CCDI, and in theory be able to more easily work with international law enforcement agencies, because it is not viewed as a political discipline body, sources said.

On Monday, the  CCDI announced the return of “most-wanted fugitive” Xu Xuewei, 48 from the United States, after five years living abroad.

He was the 46th suspect on the top 100 most wanted list, published by the CCDI two years ago, to return from overseas.

This means that in two years, fewer than half of the top 100 have returned.

China has issued Interpol red notices for the 100 suspects, but these notices only require countries to provisionally arrest a suspect, and don’t require extradition if there is no extradition treaty in place.

Ten Australians were on the original list, of which two have returned voluntarily.

Beijing is hosting the international assembly of Interpol on Tuesday. China’s vice public security minister, Meng Hongwei, was controversially appointed Interpol president last year.

But as China pushes for greater international help in returning corruption suspects who have fled overseas, there has been international concern at the methods used by CCDI investigators, particularly the practice of “shuang gui” – the extra legal system for detaining and interrogating cadres.

Party members accused of corruption can disappear for months, undergoing secret interrogation, to emerge with prepared confessions that are then read out in court, or on national television.

The National Supervisory Commission will bring the dual tracks of party discipline and the general corruption investigation of non-party officials under one body.

The Chinese government is promoting the reform as putting all corruption investigations in China under the “rule of law”.

But it could also extend the corruption crackdown beyond party members. Teachers, civil servants, employees of state-owned enterprises, and even those of private companies that exercise “public power” are expected to come under its jurisdiction.

The National University of Singapore’s assistant director of East Asia Institute, Chen Gang, wrote in a research note that the establishment of the new commission “may not be able to solve the fundamental problems facing China’s anti-corruption drive, such as the lack of independent judiciary systems and impartial law enforcement”.

He said the new commission “cannot be separated from the Party totally, but as a state organisation, will have more legitimacy in handling external exchanges”.

In a trial of the new agency in Beijing, Shanxi and Zhejiang provinces this year, nine people had been detained by July, including the former head of a state-owned international coal trading company, and 2358 people interrogated.

American law firm Ropes & Gray said the new agency will “change the landscape of anti-corruption enforcement in China”.

Ropes & Gray warned that multinational companies need to educate China-based staff on the broad powers of the new agency, fearing similar incidents to the arrest of 18 staff working for Australian casino company Crown on gambling charges.

Source: TSMH