Operation Fox Hunt

Operation Fox Hunt (Chinese: 猎狐专项行动) is a Chinese covert global operation whose stated aim is anti-corruption under CCP general secretary Xi Jinping's regime. It has led to the arrest of over 40 of its 100 most wanted globally.[1][2][3] The program is also believed to target Chinese dissidents living abroad to stop their activism under the guise of returning corrupt Chinese nationals to China to face criminal charges.[4]

History

Operation Fox Hunt was launched in June 2014. In the course of six months during 2015 Operation Fox Hunt repatriated 680 people to China.[5]

In 2015 Operation Fox Hunt scored its first big success in Europe with the arrest and extradition of a woman surnamed Zhang from Italy. It was the first time a European country had extradited someone to China on accusations of financial crimes.[6]

American response
"Since 2014, Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping has spearheaded a program known as “Fox Hunt.” Now, China describes Fox Hunt as some kind of international anti-corruption campaign—it is not. Instead, Fox Hunt is a sweeping bid by General Secretary Xi to target Chinese nationals whom he sees as threats and who live outside China, across the world. We’re talking about political rivals, dissidents, and critics seeking to expose China’s extensive human rights violations. Hundreds of the Fox Hunt victims that they target live right here in the United States, and many are American citizens or green card holders. The Chinese government wants to force them to return to China, and China’s tactics to accomplish that are shocking. For example, when it couldn’t locate one Fox Hunt target, the Chinese government sent an emissary to visit the target’s family here in the United States. The message they said to pass on? The target had two options: return to China promptly, or commit suicide. And what happens when Fox Hunt targets refuse to return to China? In the past, their family members both here in the United States and in China have been threatened and coerced, and those back in China have even been arrested for leverage."

Christopher A. Wray, https://www.fbi.gov/news/speeches/the-threat-posed-by-the-chinese-government-and-the-chinese-communist-party-to-the-economic-and-national-security-of-the-united-states

The Obama administration in the United States protested the use of undercover intelligence agents as part of Fox Hunt in 2015. In 2020 Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Christopher A. Wray gave a speech at the Hudson Institute in New York where he talked at length about Fox Hunt. As of 2020 FBI believes that the purpose of Fox Hunt is political repression not anti-corruption. According to the FBI targets are given the option of returning to China or committing suicide.[7] Targets were often coerced into compliance through threats against family members and friends both in China and abroad.[8]

In October 2020 five people were arrested on charges related to their participation in Operation Fox Hunt against a target in the US.[9] An additional three people believed to be in China were charged with the same crimes.[10]

See also

References
  1. "China's "Fox Hunt" Makes Great Achievements". Huffington Post. 25 April 2017. Archived from the original on 24 February 2019. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  2. "France opens probe into missing Chinese head of Interpol". The Economic Times. 5 October 2018. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  3. "Operation Fox Hunt: Melbourne grandmother Zhou Shiqin prosecuted after return to China". Philip Wen. Sydney Morning Herald. 26 October 2016. Archived from the original on 8 October 2018. Retrieved 8 October 2018.
  4. Borger, Julian (2020-07-08). "China blackmailing dissenters in US to return home – FBI chief". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2020-07-07. Retrieved 2020-07-08.
  5. Gan, Nectar. "Revealed: the team behind China's Operation Fox Hunt against graft suspects hiding abroad". www.scmp.com. South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 6 March 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  6. Timmons, Heather. "China's "Operation Fox Hunt" just bagged a trophy in Italy". qz.com. Quartz. Archived from the original on 14 November 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  7. Borger, Julien. "China blackmailing dissenters in US to return home – FBI chief". www.theguardian.com. The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  8. "FBI chief warns of Beijing plot to compel overseas critics to return to China". www.abc.net.au. ABC Australia. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  9. Rej, Abhijnan. "8 Accused by the US of Participating in China's Operation Fox Hunt". thediplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  10. Macias, Amanda. "FBI arrests five in alleged 'Operation Fox Hunt' plot to stalk and pressure citizens to return to China". www.cnbc.com. CNBC. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
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