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APEC anti-corruption leaders pledge action

By Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-04-26 06:29

SHANGHAI: How to find corrupt officials who have hidden in other countries? How to recover assets that had been taken out? More than 100 anti-corruption officials in the Asia-Pacific region are in Shanghai, hoping to find answers.

Senior law officers attending the ongoing Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) Anti-Corruption Workshop, the first within APEC's framework, vowed to translate words into action.

"Only by augmenting bilateral, multilateral as well as regional and international co-operation and setting up an anti-corruption mechanism can an effective fight against corruption be possible," Li Yufu, vice-minister of supervision, said at the opening ceremony.

Co-sponsored by the Chinese and United States governments, the forum highlights the theme of denial of safe haven, asset recovery and extradition, which is "of great and realistic significance," Li said.

Statistics from the World Bank indicate that the value of assets that corrupt officials transfer between developed and developing countries has reached US$1 trillion annually.

"Corruption jeopardizes the integrity of world markets, facilitates international crime and terrorism, (and) diverts public investment away from areas that need it most, " said Debra Wong Yang, a senior US attorney from the Central District of California.

No country or region should serve as a safe haven for criminals suspected of corruption using the excuse of differences in political or legal systems, said Dong Hai, deputy director of the General Office of the Ministry of Supervision.

From 1993 to 2005, more than 230 Chinese fugitives were extradited from more than 30 countries with the support of the International Criminal Police Organization, Dong said, adding that China had repatriated several foreign criminal suspects.

To ensure the recovery of assets, Dong suggested that co-operation be enhanced not only between law enforcement departments, but also between auditing, financial prosecution and bank departments.

The Chinese Government has signed mutual legal assistance treaties in criminal matters with 39 countries and extradition treaties with 26 countries, said Zhang Xiaoming of the Ministry of Justice.

Participants attending the workshop agreed that the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, which took effect last December 14, includes principles that are critical in fighting corruption.

By April 1, 140 countries had approved the convention, and the number of parties stood at 50, said Fujino Akiro, representative of the Regional Centre for East Asia and Pacific, United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime.

In China, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is speeding up legislative efforts to suit the situation after it approved the convention last October 27, Dong said.

The three-day workshop, which concludes today, is the brainchild of President Hu Jintao and US President George W. Bush, who agreed to enhance co-operation against corruption when attending the APEC Summit in November 2004 in Santiago, Chile, organizers said.

(China Daily 04/26/2006 page2)