In a shock revelation, Bai Bin, an assistant judge from the Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court, absconded to Japan with millions of yuan in court execution funds just before the May Day holiday. Mainland Chinese media exposed this news, but it was promptly censored by the authorities. Despite the comprehensive censorship by the Chinese Communist Party, overseas pro-democracy organization “Democratic China Front” (abbr. DCF) Japan branch member Lu Jiaxi stated that they are assisting Bai Bin in applying for political asylum and will disclose the truth on a selected date.
According to a report by Caixin Net on June 4th, Bai Bin fled to Japan with his family and millions of yuan in court execution funds before the May Day holiday, and he has since obtained Greek nationality. This explosive news was swiftly taken down, and all information about Bai Bin vanished from the internet. Articles discussing potential developments following the incident without mentioning names were also deleted.
The so-called execution funds refer to various payments collected by the court on behalf of the judgment debtor, including compensation, fines, assessment fees, etc., which are later allocated to the winning party. Although the Supreme People’s Court has explicitly stated since 2017 that execution funds should be handled separately and used for their designated purpose, there are still issues of lax internal controls and process mismanagement in practice.
On June 4th, on the overseas social media platform X, Lu Jiaxi, a member of the DCF Japan branch, stated that Bai Bin had been in contact with the DCF Japan branch. “The Democratic China Front Japan branch is assisting Mr. Bai Bin in applying for political asylum in Japan.”
Renowned Chinese human rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang posted on X on June 6th, “Helping a judge who has absconded with court execution funds apply for political asylum? Is this what you want to do? Regardless of where he did it, what he did is an unpardonable crime. Don’t you know that?”
Lu Jiaxi replied below the post, “The truth is not like that. We will choose a date to disclose the truth of the matter.”
According to Caixin’s report, the judge who fled before the May Day holiday is named Bai Bin, a native of Xinzhou, Shanxi, born in the 1990s. In the summer of 2014, he entered the Execution Bureau of Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court and was a former assistant judge before the incident.
Allegedly, the incident occurred because his girlfriend bragged to her friends about their privacy, which was then reported by someone. Bai Bin subsequently fled to Japan with his whole family before May Day.
Reports suggest various figures regarding the amount involved in the case, with some mentioning 130 million yuan, others around 200 million yuan, and even some saying close to 300 million yuan.
The report quoted several interviewees who stated that Bai Bin’s substantial overseas funds were from one or more illegal fundraising fraud cases.
Following the incident, Zhu Ping, a member of the Standing Committee, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, and Director of the Supervision Commission of the Xicheng District Committee in Beijing, was “parachuted” into the Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court as the vice president at the end of May.
On the same day, the Beijing Discipline Inspection Commission and Supervision Commission also reported that Zhang Meixin, former vice president of the Beijing Third Intermediate People’s Court, is under investigation for “serious violations of discipline and law.” Zhang Meixin once served as the director of the Execution Bureau of the Beijing Higher People’s Court and was one of the key designers of the execution system in Beijing, leading to widespread speculation about his connection to the Bai Bin case.
A source close to the political and legal system told Dajiyuan, “This incident is significant, as the sum involved is not trivial. The judiciary system is in upheaval internally. Zhu Ping’s sudden arrival was unexpected, and it is said that he was originally poised for promotion, but this time, he was urgently reassigned, which can be described as stepping up in a crisis.”
As of now, the official Chinese Communist Party has not issued any announcement regarding this case, but it has circulated widely on social media and within legal circles, sparking public doubts about the CCP’s court execution system and internal oversight.