Chinese law enforcement agencies extradited a suspect from Thailand on Tuesday in connection with a major financial criminal case involving more than 100 billion yuan (about 14 billion U.S. dollars), China's Ministry of Public Security announced Friday.
The man surnamed Zhang is the first financial criminal suspect extradited to China from Thailand since the two countries' extradition treaty took effect in 1999, according to the ministry.
Zhang was discovered to have led a pyramid scam operation under the guise of issuing virtual currency since 2012. The public security organ of Chongqing Municipality launched an investigation into Zhang in 2020, and an Interpol Red Notice was issued in March 2021.
Zhang was captured by Thai police in 2022, and was ordered to be extradited to China following a sentence made by Thailand's Appeals Court in May of this year, a decision later supported by the Thai government.
China extradites suspect of 100-billion-yuan financial crime from Thailand
A Chinese envoy on Wednesday slammed the United States for vetoing a UN Security Council draft resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, saying the move has shattered the Gazan people's hope for survival and pushed them further into darkness and desperation.
The draft, put forward by the Council's 10 non-permanent members, demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
The 15-member Council voted 14-1 in favor of the resolution, but the United States used its veto as a permanent member of the Council to block it.
Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, said China is very disappointed with the result of Wednesday's vote.
Guyana, Algeria, and other E10 members (elected non-permanent members of the Security Council) demonstrated maximum sincerity and constructiveness during the consultation on the draft resolution, he said.
"In the future, when looking back, people will find it hard to understand this part of history. The Security Council is mandated under the UN charter to shoulder the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. It is incomprehensible that for the past year or so, the United States has been so insistent in rendering the Council incapable of playing its role, leading to its paralysis. The U.S. has claimed to be conducting parallel diplomatic efforts and has repeatedly promised that progress would be made soon in the negotiations. It is incomprehensible that to date, the so-called diplomatic negotiations have been going in circles. Why is Israel allowed to continue its military operations while constantly putting forth new conditions for negotiations?" Fu said.
Fu said Israel has flagrantly breached every red line of international humanitarian law, with its actions causing an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.
But even as a famine is about to break out in Gaza, the United States always seems to be able to find justification to defend Israel, which represents a distortion and selective disregard of the application of international humanitarian law, the ambassador said.
People never knew before how low one could stoop in terms of double standard. No wonder people feel angry. Their indignation also stems from the fact that the continued supply of weapons from the U.S. has become a decisive factor for the war lasting so long, causing so many casualties and so much destruction, he said.
"Facts have shown that Israel's military operations in Gaza have long exceeded the scope of rescuing hostages. Insistence on setting preconditions for a ceasefire is tantamount to giving the green light to prolong the war and condone the continued killing. The repeated use of veto by the United States has reduced the authority of the Security Council and international law to an all-time low," Fu said.
China called on the U.S. to take its responsibilities as a permanent member of the Council seriously, stop being passive and evasive, and stop the deliberate procrastination. Instead, it should act with a sense of responsibility to history, and support the Council in taking all necessary actions to achieve an immediate ceasefire, save lives, and restore peace, the envoy said.
The United States has repeatedly obstructed the Security Council from passing draft resolutions on a ceasefire in Gaza since a new round of Israel-Hamas conflict broke out on October 7, 2023, which has killed nearly 44,000 Palestinians over the past 13 months.
US shatters Gazan people's hope for survival: Chinese envoy
