Dong Feng. A Rizhao police officer with direct knowledge of the investigation said he believed his colleagues had travelled in an unofficial capacity, raising questions as to whether Australian police or diplomats were notified of the repatriation efforts being carried out on Australian soil. "We first contacted [Dong] from China, but he didn't quite believe what we were saying over the phone, he said it would be best if we spoke face to face," said the officer, who is attached to the city's economic crimes unit. "This is why we went, in December 2014." The high priority that Mr Xi has given Fox Hunt and its sister campaign, Sky Net, has raised incentives and pressures for police officials at all tiers of Chinese government to bring fugitives back home and uncover hidden assets. An Interpol notice against Mr Dong describes his alleged crime as "bribery" but does not mention that the amounts in question are relatively small by contemporary Chinese standards, that they relate to Mr Dong's work at a private company and that Mr Dong contests the allegations.

Nor does the notice mention that Mr Dong is a practitioner of Falun Gong, which is banned as a subversive "cult" in China. Mr Xi's fox-hunting efforts have led to the extradition of 290 alleged fugitives from 69 countries, according to official figures from December. But those efforts have been frustrated by cautious government responses in Western nations including Australia, which is commonly listed as a top-three destination for Chinese fugitives. Chinese police have attempted to work around diplomatic obstacles by raising the importance of "persuasion work", which typically involves applying pressure upon family members who remain in mainland China. "A fugitive is like a kite, the body is overseas but the thread is inside China - through family and friends, [we] can always find them," Li Gongjin, team leader of Shanghai police's economic crimes unit, told Xinmin Weekly in an interview late last year. Chinese authorities say 390 alleged fugitives had returned "voluntarily", according to the December figures.

Anecdotal examples, however, suggest that at least some of these fox-hunting successes may not be living up to their billing. The case of Mr Dong was trumpeted by a local Communist Party newspaper as a successful example of "persuasion" work as part of Operation Fox Hunt. The report confirmed the police visits to Australia and claimed that Mr Dong's wife had returned to China and Mr Dong was likely to follow suit. Fairfax understands that Mr Dong has misgivings about returning with his wife and daughter but nevertheless agreed to meet the visiting Chinese police because of concerns about the welfare of his wife's elderly parents back in China. Contrary to the Chinese newspaper report, however, Ms Yang brought her parents back to join her in Melbourne last week, rather than the other way around. The Australian Federal Police declined to say whether they were aware that Rizhao police had travelled to Australia to meet alleged fugitives in December. "This is not an AFP investigation," said a spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police. "Questions relating to this Chinese investigation should be directed to the Chinese authorities."

A spokeswoman for Justice Minister Michael Keenan said only that the two countries have developed "productive" areas of mutual assistance. Mr Dong declined to speak directly with Fairfax when approached at his home and contacted via friends. Rizhao police allege a Shanxi coal company paid more than 1 million yuan ($214,000) in bribes to Mr Dong and his wife between 2005 and 2007 by transferring money onto two bankcards for their use. Police say the couple fled to Australia in 2009 when they began to investigate. Mr Dong has told friends that the matter was fabricated by "a former boss he had offended" at his company, the privately-owned Rizhao Steel, one of Australia's most important iron ore customers. In another case, reported last week, a former Chinese boss of a multibillion-dollar conglomerate, Zheng Jiefu, said he had been followed around Melbourne's bayside suburbs in connection with a corruption case involving China's former deputy spy chief.

Mr Zheng said he did not know whether his stalkers were working for or against Mr Xi's corruption fighters and that he would not return to assist investigations in China until he received high-level safety guarantees.