China signs extradition treaties with 39 nations

China has successfully brought more than 500 overseas fugitives back and recovered over 3 billion yuan worth of illegally-gotten gains, according to a post of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI) of the Communist Party of China on its website.

The article also disclosed four major ways for hunting fugitives, namely extradition, repatriation of illegal immigrants, offsite prosecution and persuasion; and five ways of recovering the fugitives' illegal gains: through judicial assistance and extradition treaties, foreign laws and civil procedures as well as Chinese law, regulations and relevant policies.

According to the CCDI, China has signed extradition treaties with 39 countries and criminal and judicial assistance treaties with 52. It has also signed 124 agreements or memorandums of understanding in cooperation on procuratorial affairs with 91 countries, regions and international organizations. In addition, China has entered police cooperation with 189 countries and sent 62 police liaison officers to 36 Chinese embassies in 31 countries.

A set of coordinated work mechanisms has been set up among relevant departments as the CCDI's International Cooperation Bureau continues the task of hunting overseas fugitives and the results of their corruption.

As well as this, an information management system targeting fleeing Party members and state functionaries allows China's state organs, as well as authorities of all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, to report fugitives' information around the clock.

An online reporting system was implemented on the CCDI's website in December 2014, to receive tip-offs from Asia, Europe and Americas, as well as letters from abroad by people who wanted to contribute to China's efforts in hunting fugitives, the article said.

So far, the CCDI has published six further articles on the hunt for fugitives since the first was released on Jan. 1.