China passes new law to tackle growing telecoms and online fraud
- Suspects can be chased across border under new law passed by China’s top legislative body, with telecoms firms and banks duty bound to help find scammers
- Focus on cross-border cooperation as tough law enforcement in China sees fraudsters set up base in neighbouring countries
The law will be applicable both within and outside Chinese territory, according to state news agency Xinhua.
00:56
China vows to actively search and rescue Hong Kong residents allegedly scammed in Southeast Asia
“Overseas organisations or individuals who conduct telecommunication network fraud activities … may be dealt with and held accountable in accordance with the relevant provisions of this law,” the law says.
The Chinese foreign and public security ministries must also engage more closely with international law enforcement agencies to crack down on such crimes, including the establishment of a “rapid working liaison mechanism”, the law stipulates.
In wrapping up its latest session which began on Tuesday, the NPC Standing Committee also approved the appointment of Ying Yong, 64, as the country’s first-ranking deputy prosecutor, confirming an earlier report by the South China Morning Post.
His stint as the deputy procurator-general of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, the top national prosecution agency, will pave the way for Ying to be endorsed as the country’s next top prosecutor at the NPC’s annual meeting next March. Ying is a loyalist of President Xi Jinping and led the response to China’s initial coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan.
