QUESTION: Mark, can I change the subject?

MR TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: This report in The New York Times on China’s asking for the extradition of this businessman, Ling Wancheng. Are you aware of this case, and has he asked for asylum? Where is he? Is he in the United States?

MR TONER: Sure. First of all, because I’m not able to discuss individual cases such as this, more broadly I can say that we regularly engage with China on law enforcement matters of mutual concern, and that includes fugitives and also includes anti-corruption. And that’s through the U.S.-China Joint Liaison Group on Law Enforcement Cooperation.

We continue to emphasize to Chinese officials, though, that it’s incumbent on them to provide U.S. officials with clear, significant, compelling, convincing evidence to allow our law enforcement agencies to proceed with investigations, removals, and prosecutions of fugitives. So I don’t want to get too much into the details of this specific case, but more broadly, that’s our approach.

QUESTION: So China has asked – from what you’re saying, if the U.S. has come back to them and said, well, you need to provide us with that information --

MR TONER: So we do have this working group. It does look at all of these, and this case, if it’s indeed a case – and I can’t speak to confirm it or deny it because, as we talked about in another extradition case, we’re not able to discuss the specifics of these cases. But more broadly speaking, we do have this mechanism, this working group in place that looks at all the cases, frankly, that China has against its nationals living in the United States. And we try to vet those, and, as I said, rely on China to provide us with what we believe is legitimate, compelling, credible evidence of why these people should be – sorry, extradited, I apologize.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Can you say whether this man, Ling Wancheng, has – is suspected of breaking any U.S. laws?

MR TONER: I’m not aware of that, no. I’m not aware that he’s suspected of breaking any U.S. laws. But that’s a matter for the FBI or for other domestic law enforcement agencies.

In the back, please, and then I’ll get to you.