Photo 1 – China’s President. His Excellency Xi Jinping
By: E. Williams
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, May 6th 2017 – The man who China claims is being protected by the authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis, is named among the 22 people on Beijing’s “most wanted” list of alleged corruption suspects, all of whom now live out of the country.
The Government of the Peoples Republic of China has accused the Timothy Harris Team Unity administration of harbouring and protecting Ren Biao, who is an economic citizen of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Beijing said they have had no co-operation from Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris on the issue. The opposition in St. Kitts and Nevis has called for the resignation of Prime Minister Harris for dragging his feet on the matter.
China claims that Ren Biao, who holds Chinese and St. Kitts and Nevis citizenship is accused of swindling over US$100 million from a Chinese state firm.
Photo 2 – Chinese national, Ren Biao
Chinese diplomatic sources intercepted communication on April 16, in which Ren called relatives in Beijing seeking an additional US$190,000 to help to continue pay for what he reportedly described as his protection by Kittitian authorities.
According to Time Magazine, China in an unprecedented move, has published information that includes names, gender, photos, alleged residential addresses and even passport numbers of those suspected of graft.
According to information published online by the country’s Central Committee of Disciplinary Inspection (CCDI), these officials – some of whom had left China two decades ago – were accused of crimes including fraud, corruption and bribery. All of the 22 suspects are reportedly on an Interpol red notice of “100 most wanted” Chinese fugitives, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency — part of Beijing’s far-reaching effort to bring alleged criminals back into its jurisdiction.
Photo 3 – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris
According to the CCDI’s list, which is publicly available, 10 out of the 22 are reportedly based in the U.S., with five others living in Canada and four in New Zealand. Others are reportedly now living in Australia, the U.K. and the Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
The state-sanctioned doxxing is intended to pressure the individuals into giving themselves over to Beijing’s jurisdiction. None of the five countries named on the list currently have extradition agreements with the People’s Republic: St. Kitts and Nevis maintains diplomatic links with Taiwan, while a treaty between Beijing and Canberra fell through last month after a Sydney-based Chinese academic was briefly disallowed from leaving mainland China.
Since taking office in 2012, President Xi Jinping has launched a widespread ant graft campaign that has targeted thousands of government officials. The highest-ranking cadre to have ever been prosecuted for graft so far was the former security czar Zhou Yongkang, who was arrested in late 2014 and subsequently jailed for life the following year.
