AP, WELLINGTON
A former pharmaceutical executive whom Chinese authorities accuse of embezzling money and fleeing to New Zealand has settled his case for US$31 million, New Zealand police said yesterday, in a deal that represents an unusual level of cooperation between the two countries.
William Yan (閻永明), a New Zealand citizen, settled without acknowledging any criminal or civil liability, the police said in a statement.
Police had previously seized homes, luxury cars, including a Porsche and a Maserati, and stocks from the 47-year-old Yan, his wife and two associates, the statement said.
Police said they would release those items once Yan and the others handed over NZ$43 million (US$31.47 million).
Police said the money would then be split between the New Zealand and Chinese governments, with the amount each would get still to be determined.
New Zealand authorities refused to answer further questions about the case, including whether China would attempt to extradite Yan.
China’s embassy in Wellington did not immediately respond to questions.
The settlement is the largest of its kind ever made in New Zealand, and the first for crimes alleged to have occurred in China.
Critics say it raises questions about why Yan is not facing charges and how much New Zealand is acquiescing to Beijing’s demands.
China represents a crucial market for New Zealand’s agricultural exports, which include kiwifruit and dairy products.
One of Yan’s Auckland-based lawyers, Simon Lance, said in an e-mail that his client “does not accept that he is guilty of embezzling money in China.”
Another one of the lawyers, Marc Corlett, said in a statement that the settlement was a “commercial compromise” that would allow Yan to recover his seized assets and “return his focus to his business activities in New Zealand and elsewhere.”
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said the police handle investigations independently and it is up to them to determine whether it is better to settle a case or pursue charges.
However, opposition lawmaker Winston Peters said the way the case was handled was demeaning for New Zealand.
“You know, we’re dancing on a pinhead for China in so many areas,” he said.
As part of an operation it calls Sky Net, China last year issued a list of its 100 most-wanted economic fugitives, who it accuses of absconding overseas with ill-gotten gains.
Under the name Yan Yongming, Yan made the list at No. 5.
The listing said Yan is wanted by police in the northeast Chinese city of Tonghua, where he last worked as chairman of a pharmaceutical company, the Tonghua Golden Horse Group (通化金馬藥業集團). It lists three different passport numbers and three national identification numbers for Yan, who it also lists under the name Liu Yangming.
China said between 11 and 20 of the alleged economic fugitives have fled to New Zealand, making it the third-most popular destination behind the US and Canada.
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a political foundation based on the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today said during her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Both sides of the Strait should plan and build institutionalized and sustainable mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation based on that foundation to make peaceful development across the Strait irreversible, she said. Peace is a shared moral value across the Strait, and both sides should move beyond political confrontation to seek institutionalized solutions to prevent war, she said. Mutually beneficial cross-strait relations are what the
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
RSS