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 So far, only one person on China's Operation Sky Net list of 100
most wanted fugitives - 46 of whom were believed to be in the United
States and Canada - has been returned to China from either country.
Another woman on the list chose to return to China from the U.S.
herself, and at least one more is in a U.S. immigration detention
center awaiting deportation.
Reuters found that many of the remaining North American suspects on
the list, like Florida businessman Wei Chen and British Columbia
mushroom farmer Wang Qingwei, are living openly as legal immigrants
and have heard nothing from the U.S. or Canadian governments since
the Sky Net list was published in April.
"The list has ruined my life, but I'm not hiding," said Chen, a U.S.
citizen since 2005, in an interview with Reuters. "I don't know
about the other 99 people, but I didn't do what they said."
Liu Jianchao, China's minister in charge of repatriating corruption
suspects, told Reuters that 17 of 100 Sky Net fugitives have been
returned so far, mostly from countries with close ties to China,
including Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and Uganda.
 COOPERATION WITH LIMITS
Neither the United States nor Canada has an extradition treaty with
China, partly because they question the integrity of its judicial
system and treatment of prisoners. That has meant that the only
people on China's list who have so far faced deportation in North
America are those found to have committed crimes or immigration
violations since arriving.
One of them, Yang Xiuzhu, 69, told Reuters she entered the U.S. on a
fake passport. She is in custody awaiting deportation proceedings
and has filed for asylum.
The one corruption suspect on the wanted list returned to China from
North America so far was Yang's brother, who was deported for U.S.
immigration violations in September.
The United States has carefully calibrated its public statements on
the assistance it will offer China. A spokesman for the Department
of Justice said the U.S. will "vigorously pursue prosecutions"
against fugitives sought by China "where there is alleged money
laundering or other criminal activity in this country."
However, U.S. officials have also made clear that they would need to
see China's evidence of crimes before offering full cooperation. A
former U.S. security official, who asked not to be named, said China
has provided virtually no evidence so far against the alleged
fugitives.
Canada, which elected a new federal government in October, has said
it will continue to work on a deal with China to return corrupt
officials in exchange for a share of the assets seized, which would
be considered proceeds of the individual's crimes
While Canada does not have an extradition treaty with China, if an
individual is found to have lied on a visa application – as in
falsely stating that money brought into the country was obtained
legally when it was not– residency can be revoked.
At least one corruption suspect in Canada and one in the U.S. have
been awarded citizenship, and many more have been granted permanent
residency. Those located by Reuters questioned why they were on the
list.
 Miami businessman Chen is accused by China of misappropriating
public funds while working at the state-owned Haomen Group. Chinese
authorities declined requests from Reuters to elaborate on the
charges.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Chen denied the allegations to
a Reuters reporter. Chen said he suspects that officials blame him
for the overall decline of Haomen's business after it entered into a
poorly-fated joint venture with French company Danone group.
He said he expected to hear from U.S. officials after finding
himself on the list but has not. He received a call last month from
a Chinese anti-corruption officer only after Reuters made inquiries
about his case there. Chen said the official would not elaborate on
why he is on the list.
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Huang Hong, Chen's ex-wife, is also on the Sky Net list. Chen
confirmed that Hong is in the U.S. and said she had not been
contacted by either Chinese or U.S. officials. He said she never
worked at Haomen but declined to talk more about her. Hong did not
reply to messages left by Reuters.
Evaluating Chen's assertion of innocence or China's accusations is
difficult, since the events took place more than 20 years ago.
Another of the corruption suspects, Wang, wanted by China for
alleged accounting fraud, operates a small mushroom farm in the
Canadian town of Chilliwack. He was out making deliveries when
Reuters visited, but his brother confirmed that Wang is the man on
the Sky Net list and said he was unaware of Wang having been
contacted by authorities.
When asked about the allegations against Wang, the brother declined
to comment, but gestured toward a sagging 1920s farmhouse, its back
porch littered with inexpensive children's shoes and muddy work
boots.
"He's a farmer," he said.
Another man on the list, wanted for alleged corruption and bribery,
lives in a modest townhouse outside Seattle. He asked not to be
identified because he didn't want to attract additional attention to
his situation.
His wife, who answered the door to two Reuters reporters recently,
said he has not been contacted by Chinese or U.S. authorities.
She declined to comment on the charges except to say, "If you offend
the leadership, the leadership will retaliate."
HUNTED ACROSS CONTINENTS
To be sure, some individuals on the list have been pursued more
aggressively. Canadian authorities for years denied Vancouver
property developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung citizenship, which he
claimed in a lawsuit was because of corruption charges leveled
against him by China. He has since applied for refugee status.
Yang Xiuzhu, the woman arrested and held since last year on
immigration violation charges, spoke to Reuters recently at a New
York detention facility. Wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, Yang
said she was arrested at her sister's New York apartment just a
month after she arrived in the United States on a false passport
last year.
Yang, accused of stealing $39 million while deputy mayor of Wenzhou,
in Eastern China, denied the charges against her. She called the
list a political document targeting enemies of the current regime
rather than a roster of true criminals.
"I suspect I am a pawn between U.S. and Chinese negotiators," she
said.
When her brother was returned to China, state-owned media showed him
handcuffed, flanked by policemen, being led off a private jet at
Fuzhou airport in southeastern China. He has not been seen in public
since.
(Reporting By Elizabeth Dilts and Julie Gordon; additional reporting
by Jim Finkle in Boston, Liu Xiao in New York, Mark Hosenball in
Washington and Ben Blanchard in Beijing.)
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