"You can rebut me at any time," Wang Minggao said with great confidence. Wang is well known for his extensive research into corruption in China.

During a three-hour long interview with Nanfang Weekend published on June 15, Wang disclosed the details of research into corruption prevention and control measures that he is currently leading. Wang is a section chief under the Organization Department of Hunan provincial Party committee.

Comprised of officials and academics from Hunan, his research team was set up last September. The team was established by the National Social Sciences Foundation, and supported by Hunan University, the Organization Department of Hunan provincial Party committee, and Hunan Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

Top of the agenda for the research team is developing measures to deal with those who have fled the country, currently the most difficult and complicated part of anti-corruption work.

According to Wang, there are no accurate statistics on the number of corrupt officials who have absconded nor the amount of money embezzled. The team puts the number of absconders at several thousand, not including those who have been reported missing or who have committed suicide.

High-level executives from financial departments and state-owned large and medium-sized enterprises account for the majority of corrupt officials who have fled the country. The others are government officials, most of them high-ranking officials, and ordinary bank employees.

As part of their initial research, the team has profiled malfeasants as follows:

The first group are officials in their 50s. They are typically people who were in charge of communications or construction departments. They have used their positions to embezzle huge amounts of money, but might now be feeling a little uneasy because their ability to cover up their corruption diminishes the closer they get to retirement.

Yang Xiuzhu, 58, former vice director of the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Construction, is an example. Her official position enabled her to process the necessary paperwork and monetary transfers for her family's relocation outside the country. She also arranged things so that she could flee at any time.

The second category of malfeasants are general managers of state-owned enterprises usually in their 40s. They hold several important positions that give them access to funds. Yu Zhengdong, 38, former head of Bank of China's Guangdong Kaiping branch, and 42-year-old Luo Qingchang, former chairman of the board of directors of Yunnan Tourism Group, are classified under this category. They used their business connections to set up shell companies overseas into which funds and assets were channeled.

The top destinations for these absconders are usually developed countries including the US and Canada, and also certain Latin American or East European countries.

The last category includes ordinary bank employees in their 20s such as 28-year-old Xie Bingfeng, and Mai Ronghui from Bank of China's Nanhai branch office. They flee as soon as they make any profit and typically escape to Southeast Asian countries like Thailand and Myanmar.

In terms of measures to prevent, control and punish corruption, Wang's team suggests passing an anti-money laundering law as soon as possible. China's current Criminal Law only punishes money laundering in relation to smuggling and drug trafficking; income illegally derived from corruption and bribery is not covered.

Further, the team suggests encouraging the use of civil punishments. Lawsuits can be initiated in the country where the absconder has fled to demand civil compensation.

However, even if money laundering is included in the Criminal Law, a more significant issue remains: extradition. Political persecution and capital punishment are raised as defenses by absconders pleading for non-extradition to China, which means that many absconders can effectively escape the long arm of the law.

"We suggest abolishing the death penalty for corruption. For example, Lai Changxing, who is believed to have been involved in a series of smuggling and bribery cases in east China's Fujian Province, fled to Canada in 1999 and is still there. In Lai's case, Canada is proceeding on the principle that criminal suspects who face the death penalty will not be extradited," Wang said.

On April 29, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress approved the extradition treaty with Spain. The treaty provides that China will not execute criminal suspects repatriated from Spain, a decision that could help persuade more Western countries to join China's efforts in tracking down corrupt officials who have fled abroad.

"Statistics from the last 10 years also show that it is unrealistic to try and curb corruption with the death penalty. Many corrupt officials who have fled abroad use this to avoid the punishment of law," Wang said.

Wang and his team also suggest the establishment of a trial system that would enable the courts to try fugitives in absentia. This would have to be done in conjunction with further cooperation with other countries in relation to extradition and the confiscation of property and assets.

As far as state assets are concerned, the central government demands that this must be retrieved. "This might affect the willingness of certain countries that have provided assistance in tracking down absconders," Wang warned.

He suggests a potential solution in the form of a "compensation and benefit sharing system," which could include the setting-up of a special fund using retrieved money and/or assets to reward persons or organizations that might have played key roles in the retrieval.

Nevertheless, Wang pointed out that the most effective anti-corruption measures would be to maintain a database of officials and all their property and assets, and to conduct regular audits on officials.

Wang's team has also been tasked with studying measures contained in the UN Convention Against Corruption and localizing them. China signed the convention on December 10, 2003 and ratified it on October 27, 2005.

The team will submit its research results within the next three years.

(China.org.cn by Wang Qian, June 21, 2006)