South China Morning Post

Update: A Canadian Tribunal has ruled that China’s allegations against Michael Ching have not been established, putting him on the path to Canadian citizenship.

The article you searched was the subject of a defamation claim by Michael Ching against the SCMP, resolved by a settlement requiring readers to acknowledge subsequent Canadian developments.

To read more about those developments, click here.

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Vancouver property developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung, who was last week identified as Chinese fugitive Cheng Muyang, has broken his silence. Photos: SCMP Pictures

Graft fugitive Michael Ching Mo Yeung finally admits he is a wanted man in China... but denies any guilt

Vancouver businessman breaks silence to describe the charges against him as 'false and hurtful'

UPDATE: Michael Ching Mo Yeung has commenced legal proceedings against South China Morning Post in the Supreme Court of British Columbia.  Mr Ching alleges in his lawsuit that this article contains false and defamatory statements, and that the conduct of South China Morning Post and its reporter was malicious, reprehensible, high-handed, and blameworthy.

Vancouver property developer Michael Ching Mo Yeung, who was last week identified as Chinese fugitive Cheng Muyang, has broken his silence to admit that he is wanted on corruption charges in the mainland but denies he is guilty.

In a statement issued to Canadian media over the weekend, Ching’s lawyer David Lunny said his client “had no involvement whatsoever in any graft or corruption”.

“He did not flee from anything and he has never been in hiding,” said the statement.

“He was not then and is not now a fugitive. The accusations which are now made against him by the Chinese government and repeated in the media here are without foundation and they emanated only after a change in the leadership of the Chinese political regime. Anyone familiar with the inadequacies and failings of the criminal justice system in China would certainly endorse his reluctance to place himself at its mercy.”

Ching – a prominent businessman in Vancouver who became a permanent resident of Canada in 1996 but has long been denied Canadian citizenship – was last Wednesday identified by the South China Morning Post as Cheng Muyang.

Ching, 45, is the son of Cheng Weigao, the powerful Hebei province leader who was expelled from the Communist Party in 2003 after a corruption investigation. He died in 2010.

Ching was last week included by China on a list of 100 international corruption fugitives, listed in an Interpol Red Notice under the name “Cheng Muyang”. He is accused of graft and illegal asset transfers; the Post has no evidence of his guilt or innocence. He is currently seeking asylum in Canada as a refugee.

The statement from Ching – who has failed to respond to requests for an interview that the Post lodged with both his personal assistant and the lawyer dealing with his asylum case – said the allegations against him were “false and hurtful”.

It also said that “contrary to certain defamatory assertions otherwise, the Canadian Citizenship and Immigration department did not issue a statement last week accusing Mr Ching of wrongdoing of any kind”.

However, the Post last week reported on such a statement, issued by Sonia Lesage, a media relations spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Canada. Asked in an email for CIC’s comment on Ching’s case, and his assertions in a lawsuit that his immigration case had been dealt with unfairly, Lesage responded in writing with “the Department’s statement”.

“Canadians are generous and welcoming people, but they have no tolerance for criminals and fraudsters abusing our generosity,” it said.

“Once individuals have exhausted all legal avenues, we expect them to respect our immigration laws and leave Canada, or to be removed.”

The statement then included a link to the Federal Court database, showing that a 2013 application by Ching for judicial review of a decision by Canada’s immigration and refugee board’s appeal division had been rejected by judge Michel Shore.

Ching’s statement referred to him as an “exemplary and upright member of the Canadian community”.

“By dint of his own efforts and ability, from small beginnings, he has been successful in developing and constructing more than 10 projects in the Lower Mainland with more underway or in the planning stage. Without fanfare, he has also devoted much of his time and efforts to the welfare of the community,” it said.

The statement also alluded to Ching’s political activities in Canada.

“He has provided support to various political parties in Canada at all levels of government - municipal, provincial and federal - and to both the Conservative party and the Liberal party. Mr Ching strongly believes in Canadian democratic values and has a firm confidence in the rule of law in Canada.”

Ching, president of Mo Yeung International Enterprise Ltd, would make no further comments, the statement concluded.

The businessman has hired human rights lawyer David Matas to argue that he deserves refugee status, with a hearing set for June. Matas was also the lawyer for smuggler Lai Changxing, who lost his claim for asylum, was deported, and is now serving a life sentence in China.

On Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said: “No matter where the corrupts [sic] flee, the Chinese side will bring them to justice. Absconders like Cheng Muyang are bound to receive due punishment.”

UPDATE: On August 23, 2016, Interpol concluded that data registered in its files concerning Michael Ching Mo Yeung was not compliant with Interpol’s rules and, accordingly, the data  including the Interpol “red notice” previously issued was deleted.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Michael Ching admits he's on most-wanted list Ching breaks silence
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