THE first hearing in the trial of China’s most wanted economic fugitive Yang Xiuzhu took place in a New York immigration court Tuesday.

    The 30-minute hearing was held behind closed doors, but the former Chinese official could be seen sitting in the courtroom in an orange prison jumpsuit.

    Yang’s lawyer Vlad Kuzmin said she has applied for political asylum, but refused to reveal any other details. After the hearing, Yang was taken back to a correctional facility in New Jersey.

    Last month, a source from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) confirmed that Yang, who went into hiding after being sought by anti-corruption investigators in China, has been detained in the United States.

    ICE accuses Yang of “violating the terms of the Visa Waiver Program,” and asked the immigration court to deport her to China.

    Yang is one of the 100 Chinese nationals suspected of corruption who are believed to have fled abroad. She used to serve as vice mayor of Wenzhou, a coastal city in Zhejiang Province. She oversaw construction projects. When investigators started looking into her activities in 2003, she and her family fled China.

    Investigators have found evidence that Yang accepted 253 million yuan (US$41 million) in bribes. She was subject to an Interpol red notice.

    She first fled to Singapore in 2003 before changing her name and flying to New York.

    She was eventually detained in Amsterdam in 2005, where China wasn’t able to gain custody of her, despite protracted negotiations with the Netherlands. In addition to the United States, China lacks an extradition treaty with the Netherlands.

    It was not immediately clear how Yang ended up in the United States or how U.S. authorities managed to detain her.

    A total of 214 suspects had been returned to China by the end of May from overseas since “Fox Hunt 2015” began in April, the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday.(SD-Agencies)