Podcast: Story in the Story (5/7/2019 Tue.)
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From the People's Daily app.

And this is Story in the Story.

China announced its top 100 fugitives listed on an Interpol Red Notice in April 2015, most of whom committed crimes related to corruption. As of January this year, 56 of them had returned to China with 11 being arrested overseas and two repatriated.

A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action, according to Interpol. It is an international wanted persons notice, but not an arrest warrant.

On March 11, 2014, a Chinese criminal suspect surnamed Li who committed the crime of intentional injury was extradited from Sofia, Bulgaria - 11 years after he absconded from Beijing in 2003.

It only took four days to find Li after China's Ministry of Public Security requested a Red Notice for him released by Interpol.

The extradition was the first since China and Bulgaria signed their treaty of extradition in 1996. It is also the first case for a country within the European Union following extradition procedures to hand over a fugitive to China - a breakthrough in China-EU judicial cooperation.

Today's Story in the Story looks at Chinese police jointly working with overseas police to increase safety and break down cultural barriers.

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Beijing and Italian police jointly patrol the Great Wall on July 16, 2018. (Photo: Courtesy of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau)

During the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, local police officers devoted themselves to making sure participants were safe and the event went smoothly.

The Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau has signed declarations of cooperation with police departments from 10 capitals of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states and observing members. It also established friendly and cooperative relations with some countries involved in the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), such as Vietnam, Russia and Pakistan.

Song Hong, an official specializing in international police cooperation at the bureau, has participated in organizing three large police exchange conferences in Beijing. "The first one focused on communications with police from SCO member states. The second was based on the structure of ASEAN," she said.  

Song is particularly proud of the Symposium on Major International Sport Events Security held by the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau last year. Nine countries and organizations including Britain, France, Germany as well as the International Olympic Committee and Interpol presented their experience on safeguarding major sports events as a reference for Beijing Winter Olympics 2022.

“This symposium is the first of this kind with participants of police officers from host cities of large events after the September 11 terrorist attacks. We are taking the initiative to expand the 'friends circle' of Beijing police," Song said.

Wang Shaofeng, an exit-and-entry police officer with excellent English-speaking skills at the The Fengtai district sub-bureau of Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau, participated in the China-Italy joint patrol in Rome in June 2017.

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(Photo: CGTN)

Wang's daily routine in Rome included patrolling the city's tourism spots where Chinese tourists most likely need help from them. Each shift lasted six hours, which was tiring, but also very fulfilling.

Responding to a comment which criticized the joint patrol as being a "show," Wang said, "It was never a job all about giving high fives, or posing for group selfies. We took the initiative to spot Chinese nationals in need by opening up a special hotline service with the embassy website in addition to a 24/7 police walkie-talkie at hand."

The joint patrol lasted more than 20 days in Rome, but the local Chinese community in cities where the joint patrol also took place, including Milan, Florence and Naples, continue to enjoy better than ever communication with the local officers, thanks to a new mechanism established by Wang and his fellow Chinese officers during their short stay in the country.

"The China-Italy joint patrol shows a high-level of mutual trust between the two countries' law enforcement departments. At the same time, it also shows our concern over Chinese people's safety in Italy as well as Italian police's concern over safety of Italians in China," said Zhao Wei, deputy director of the Department of International Police Cooperation at the bureau.

Under the organization of the International Police Affairs Cooperation Office and the Beijing Public Security Bureau, the Beijing People's Police College has launched 36 training programs for police officers from 20 countries and regions including SCO member states as well as those involved in the BRI.

The training program emphasizes "real combat" and "inclusion" where the foreign officers will train, work and have meals with their fellow Chinese trainees, so that the foreign officers can get a real sense and better understanding of Chinese law enforcement in the streets of Beijing, Zhao said.

Zhao also believed Chinese police could work as a "bridge" to connect local police officers and the Chinese nationals living or traveling abroad through the joint patrol. 

(Produced by Nancy Yan Xu, Chelle Wenqian Zeng, Brian Lowe, Lance Crayon, and Chelle Wenqian Zeng. Music by: bensound.com. Text from Global Times.)