US, Canada, Australia top spots for fugitive Chinese officials

The United Sates, Canada and Australia are top destinations for China's fugitive officials, and their sons and daughters are even concentrated in certain villages or streets in those countries, according to a People's Daily report.

Although there are no official data, domestic and foreign media agreed that the three countries are at the top of the list for Chinese fugitive officials, the report said. As immigration countries, they are attractive for their high life quality and education, and their judicial cooperation with China is insufficient.

"The US has become the top destination for Chinese fugitives fleeing the law," said Liao Jinrong, director general of the International Cooperation Bureau under the Ministry of Public Security.

More than 150 economic fugitives from China, most of whom are corrupt officials or face allegations of corruption, remain at large in the US, according to the China Daily.

Australia and China have agreed on a priority list of alleged economic fugitives, which was drawn up from a broader list of "no less than 100 people," the newspaper said, citing the Sydney Morning Herald last week.

Canada is also regarded as a haven for corrupt Chinese officials, who park their wealth there legally or illegally, sometimes flying in with suitcases full of cash. Toronto and Vancouver airports seized around $13 million in undeclared cash from Chinese nationals from April 2011 to early June 2012.

Not all fugitives flee to popular countries, however. Some suspects targeted by "Fox Hunt 2014," a special campaign launched in July, had fled to countries including Cambodia, Uganda, Nigeria and Fiji.

The report gave no specific number of Chinese fugitives, only saying that it ranges from 4,000 to 18,000.

It also summarized that among 51 fugitive officials documented from 1992 to 2014, 21 were from government departments, 19 were heads of state-owned enterprises, and 11 were in senior posts at financial organizations like banks.