(CFP)

"Officials whose duties or services are related to the countries and regions where their spouses and offspring are residing should voluntarily report their families' resident status to higher authorities; if conflicts of interests are involved, the officials should not be allowed to hold related posts," the regulation says.

Despite the regulation, the CASS report says that the current mechanism for oversight over "naked officials" is weak. For example, information about the resident status of official's family members is unavailable to the general public.

The report suggests that all civil servants should be required to declare their properties overseas and the public should be given access to property, residence and citizenship status information disclosed by officials. In addition, a system should be set up to verify the information provided and those reporting false information should be punished.

Competence debate

In 2009, Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province introduced a ban on "naked officials" holding top positions in major Party and government departments. In January, the Guangdong Provincial Government adopted a similar policy.

Not everyone agrees with these oversight measures. Some people argue that foreign residence and citizenship status is not necessarily a sign of corruption, and the family members of civil servants should have the same right to immigrate as ordinary citizens.

According to a survey conducted by the CASS, 34.2 percent of the general public and 38.9 percent of civil servants said that it is alright for family members of civil servants to hold foreign citizenship.

Gao Xinmin, a professor at the Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC, said that there are several types of "naked officials," and they should be treated differently.

She said that in the 1990s, after the disintegration of the former Soviet Union, some officials sent their families abroad because they did not have enough confidence in the future of the Party and the country. Yet as things have changed in recent years, especially because the Chinese economy has been growing well, very few people still hold this belief.

"Currently, family members of many civil servants go abroad for normal reasons, such as to study. There is nothing wrong with that," Gao said. "Only a small number of officials committed crimes, so they sent their families abroad and planned to join them later."

Anti-corruption experts say that keeping corrupt officials from fleeing the country is just one tactic in the fight against corruption, and what is more important is to tackle corruption from the root by establishing a system where officials cannot and are not willing to embezzle public funds.

International cooperation

According to Wang Minggao, Vice President of the Hunan University of Commerce who has headed several government-sanctioned anti-corruption research programs, former Chinese officials who embezzled large sums of money usually flee to Canada, the United States and Australia, whereas those pilfering smaller amounts tend to take shelter in neighboring countries. Some corrupt officials also make their way to small Pacific island countries and Central American countries.

Previously, because China did not have bilateral extradition agreement with some foreign countries, many corrupt officials and economic criminals were able to live openly and freely at their new homes.

However, in December 2005, the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) entered into force. China officially ratified the convention in January 2006 and it is now able to seek the extradition of persons wanted for corruption.

Zhang Zhihui, Secretary General of the Society of Public Prosecutors of China, said that under the UNCAC, member states are obliged to assist each other to fight against corruption, which means, more countries will deport corruptive fugitives to China.

As of December 13, 2011, the convention had been ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to by 158 countries. The United States and Canada, two major destination countries for corrupt officials, respectively ratified the convention in October 2006 and October 2007.

In July 2011, Canada deported Lai Changxing, a famous fugitive who fled from China to Canada in 1999 after being accused of heading a multibillion-dollar smuggling operation in Fujian Province. This put an end to a 12-year legal battle between China and Canada over Lai's extradition.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement that "Lai's deportation once again shows that no matter where a criminal suspect flees, he or she cannot evade legal sanctions in the end."

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