Man deported to China for 'economic crimes' spent time in jail
China relations
By Anthony Galloway and Eryk Bagshaw
A man who the Chinese government claims was the first Australian visa holder to be repatriated back to China over "economic crimes" was deported because he was unable to renew his visa after being sent to prison.
The man was sentenced to a term of imprisonment in Australia of at least 12 months, requiring him to be removed from the country.
The man was allegedly wanted in China after reneging on a 3.6 million yuan ($750,000) contract in 2001. Credit: Peter Braig
According to federal government sources, he exhausted all of his visa options and his removal from the country was not an extradition.
Chinese state media agency Xinhua reported on Tuesday that China's Ministry of Public Security had successfully secured the repatriation of the man, known only by his surname Mr Liu, "after years of close communication between police forces of the two countries" and collaboration with the Chinese embassy in Canberra.
Mr Liu had allegedly failed to honour a 3.6 million yuan ($750,000) contract in China and fled to Australia in 2001, after cashing it in at a bank in Sydney.
The Turnbull government pulled a proposed Australia-China extradition treaty in 2017 after concerns over the Chinese legal system prompted a backbench revolt and the Senate crossbench to declare it would block the bill.
Any extradition would have set a significant precedent following the collapse of the treaty amid heightened scrutiny on the Chinese legal system.
The Morrison government has since called the imprisonment and alleged isolation of Chinese-Australian democracy activist Yang Hengjun in Beijing "unacceptable".
Claiming a victory for pursuing Chinese fugitives abroad, state media hailed Tuesday's reported repatriation of Mr Liu as "the first such case from the country".
"Foreign countries were not sanctuaries for evading crimes, and the repatriation of Liu demonstrated the public security organs' confidence and determination in pursuing criminals," the Ministry of Public Security was reported as saying.
The Department of Home Affairs said it does not comment on individual cases.
"Non-citizens who are sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more can expect to be removed from Australia after the completion of their sentence," the department said.
The Chinese embassy was contacted for comment.
Anthony Galloway
Anthony is foreign affairs and national security correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Eryk Bagshaw
Eryk Bagshaw is an economics correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, based at Parliament House in Canberra