Beijing [China], November 10 (ANI): China’s newly enacted Anti-Cross-Border Corruption Law has raised concerns that Beijing could use anti-corruption measures to legitimise its overseas operations against dissidents and political opponents, creating a chilling effect on critics of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), according to a report by The Epoch Times.
The Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) adopted the legislation on November 6, following the CCP’s Fifth Plenum, which focused on advancing what the party described as “full and rigorous governance of the party” amid an expanding internal disciplinary campaign, The Epoch Times reported.
According to the Chinese regime, the law formalises and consolidates operations by state agencies to track down and bring back Chinese nationals suspected of corruption who have fled overseas, while also enabling the confiscation of allegedly illegally acquired assets across international borders.
However, analysts cited by The Epoch Times warned that the legislation could provide Beijing with a legal framework to expand its reach beyond China’s borders and intensify pressure on overseas dissidents.
Wang He, a US-based senior analyst, said the legislation was intended to provide the Chinese Communist Party with a legal basis to seek assistance and cooperation from Western governments while projecting an image of governance based on the rule of law.
He noted that Western democracies generally lack extradition treaties with Beijing and frequently reject its requests for assistance in apprehending suspects because of concerns over China’s lack of judicial transparency, political persecution of dissidents and religious believers, the death penalty, torture and other human rights violations.
Wang Dan, a prominent Chinese dissident living in exile in Taiwan and a leader of the 1989 student democracy movement, also expressed concern over the legislation during his YouTube talk show.
Describing the law as putting “on a legal cloak” for controversial overseas operations, Wang Dan warned that its broad coverage of alleged cross-border corruption could allow Chinese law enforcement agencies to expand their interpretation of jurisdiction.
He said Chinese authorities could potentially scrutinise financial transactions between overseas dissidents and their relatives or associates in China, identifying individuals connected to such transactions as persons of interest in corruption investigations. This, he warned, could turn economic investigations into instruments of pressure and create a chilling effect among dissidents.
Heng He, a US-based senior China analyst and current affairs commentator, told The Epoch Times that Beijing had previously faced international criticism for allegedly kidnapping or apprehending individuals overseas and was now seeking new legislation to legitimise such operations.
He pointed to previous overseas “persuasion to return” campaigns, which allegedly involved stalking, threats and pressure on family members in China to compel targeted individuals to return.
“Now, the new law will make it easier for Beijing to frame such actions as anti-corruption law enforcement,” Heng said.
Meanwhile, a Chinese lawyer identified by the pseudonym Zhang Ting, citing fears of reprisals, questioned the effectiveness of the legislation in addressing corruption within the country.
He argued that corruption in China stemmed from the absence of effective checks and balances on political power and could not be resolved simply by introducing another law.
Describing the legislation as “a tool for political purges”, Zhang said it represented an extension of the CCP’s internal power struggles.
Wang, He further argued that the party’s anti-corruption campaigns were selective and largely influenced by officials’ political loyalty to top leadership. According to him, political alignments and factional rivalries within the CCP remained significant factors in determining who faced investigations and who received protection.
He warned that when targeting political rivals, Beijing could mobilise a wider range of government agencies to trace financial assets and seek assistance from foreign governments.
The new legislation, Wang He said, could consequently become a legalised instrument for political power struggles under the guise of anti-corruption enforcement. (ANI)
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