File photo of Yang Xiuzhu. (Reuters)
A lawyer representing a former senior Chinese official under investigation for corruption and now seeking asylum in the United States said his client is concerned she would not get a fair trial in China.
Yang Xiuzhu, a former deputy mayor of Wenzhou in the booming eastern province of Zhejiang, has been in immigration detention petitioning for asylum since June 2014, Vlad Kuzmin, her attorney in New York, told Reuters on Friday.
"She is applying for relief in the United States," Kuzmin said in a phone interview. "She really does not want to return to China."
On Thursday, China's official Xinhua news agency said that Yang, at the top of a Chinese list of 100 suspected corrupt people believed to be abroad and subject to an Interpol "red notice", made the asylum application in a New York court.
"Her concern is whether her trial in China will be fair considering all the news reports that have been published by the state media. Most of it has been negative. She has already been convicted in the eyes of the media of corruption," Kuzmin said.
Kuzmin said he was concerned about the medical attention Yang, 69, was receiving at the detention facility. He is fighting for her release, in part by arguing that she has family in the United States who could support her.
He would not comment on the timeline for her asylum proceedings. "It's a complex case, so it's still ongoing," he said.
The detention comes as China pushes for talks with the United States on an extradition treaty, which would be a big boost for Beijing's anti-corruption campaign.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei told the news media that China and the United States had a track record of cooperating in the fight against corruption and said Yang should be returned as soon as possible so she can be punished by Chinese law.
A State Department spokesman said that it did not comment on immigration proceedings, and there was no comment from the Department of Homeland Security.
© Thomson Reuters 2015