New York court holds hearing for one of most wanted

The first hearing in the trial of one of China's most wanted economic fugitives, Yang Xiuzhu, took place in a New York immigration court on Tuesday.

The 30-minute hearing was held behind closed doors, but the former Chinese official could be seen sitting in the courtroom in an orange prison jumpsuit.

Yang's lawyer, Vlad Kuzmin, said Yang has applied for political asylum, but declined to reveal any other details.

After the hearing, Yang was taken back to the correctional facility in Hudson County, New Jersey.

Last month, a source in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed that Yang, who went into hiding after being hunted by anti-corruption investigators in China, had been detained in the United States.

Lou Martinez, spokesman for the ICE New York field office, said in a statement: "Xiuzhu Yang is in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody pending removal to China, for violating the terms of the Visa Waiver Program. As a foreign law enforcement fugitive, Yang is an ICE enforcement priority."

ICE has asked the immigration court to deport her to China.

Yang is one of the 100 Chinese nationals suspected of corruption who are believed to have fled abroad. She served as vice-mayor of Wenzhou, Zhejiang province. When investigators started looking into her activities in 2003, she and her family fled China.

Investigators have found evidence that Yang had accepted 253 million yuan ($41 million at current rates) in bribes. She was the subject of an Interpol alert.

China has released a list of 100 economic fugitives, all believed to have fled abroad, as part of its recent anti-corruption campaign. All are subject to worldwide Interpol arrest warrants.

The 77 men and 23 women are primarily former government functionaries whose cases involve substantial amounts of money.

The latest phase of the campaign to repatriate corruption suspects, code-named Sky Net, was launched in March.

Over the past few years, China has worked hard to break down barriers to extradition and judicial cooperation, and other countries have shown increased willingness to help.