China's intl manhunt nabs 288 economic crime suspects

Chinese police have seized 288 suspects in an international manhunt beginning in July targeting corrupt officials and economic criminals that have fled the county, the Ministry of Public Security said Monday.

Twenty-one of the suspects have been at large for more than 10 years, the ministry said.

A total of 84 suspects were seized from developed countries such as the U.S., Canada, Japan and Belgium.

Overall, 126 suspects turned themselves in. The ministry urged those still at large to turn themselves in as soon as possible in order to seek lighter punishment, giving a deadline of December 1 this year.

China is in the middle of an anti-corruption campaign targeting both high-ranking "tigers" and low-level "flies," the terms assigned to different officials depending on rank and level of corruption.

The Fox Hunt 2014 operation was launched in July to "block the last route of retreat" for corrupt officials after the country's crackdown narrowed the space for abuse of power.

China has also helped forge a cross-border law enforcement network to strengthen transnational anti-corruption cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region, which was adopted by APEC leaders earlier this month.