China's hunting for corrupt fugitives is justifiable

Yang Xiuzhu, China's most-wanted fugitive who fled overseas 13 years ago, returned to Beijing and turned herself in on Nov 16, marking another victory in the country's campaign against corruption. The former deputy director of the construction department of East China's Zhejiang province has been accused of embezzling 250 million yuan ($36.3 million), making her the most-wanted on China's "red notice" list of 100 corrupt officials released by Interpol last year.

She is the 37th fugitive who have recently returned to the country - although most of them were persuaded to do so. To hold them criminally accountable, China has the right to use repatriation and extradition rules in accordance with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and bilateral extradition treaties.

What prompted Yang to end her days on the run was not that the Chinese government had been "pressuring her family". After being charged by the US judicial authorities and detained in the country thanks to close law enforcement cooperation between China and the US, she had no option but to return to confess to her crime.