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On Jan. 13, 2005, Zhang Xiaoguang, former chairman of the board of Northeast Expressway Co. Ltd. was charged with embezzlement of public funds and is awaiting trial in China.

China has been active in seeking international cooperation in its fight against corruption. Chinese prosecutors have brought about 70 criminal suspects back to China from foreign countries since 1998.

The successful extradition from the United States of a Guangdong Province branch head of the Bank of China in 2004 was lauded as a powerful deterrent to corruption. Yu Zhendong, the banker, was convicted of misappropriating US$483 million before fleeing to the United States.

Sources from the Ministry of Public Security said 800 suspects at large abroad were wanted for economic crimes. They are accused of embezzling a total sum of almost 70 billion yuan (US$8.75 billion).

(Xinhua News Agency January 27, 2007)

Comment: Canadian court doesn’t buy into Lai’s lies
(China Daily)
Updated: 2004-02-09 09:35

On February 3 the Supreme Court of Canada rejected an application for refugee status filed by Lai Changxing because there was no evidence to support his claim of political persecution after he is repatriated to China.

Lai and his wife were behind a network responsible for smuggling US$10 billion worth of goods in collaboration with corrupt officials. Lai and his company were accused by Chinese judicial bodies of smuggling cigarettes, heating and cooking oil, textiles, chemicals and other raw materials into China via Hong Kong.

The result of his case has sparked discussions among legal experts.

Ruan Qilin, professor of criminal law in China University of Politics and Law: The Canadian verdict refusing Lai’s application for refugee status only underlined that Lai’s dream for being treated as a political refugee and not being extradited has been shattered. Although a hurdle to extraditing Lai has been removed, it is difficult to say whether he will be extradited to China.

The reason for the Canadian court making such a verdict is on one hand, it has proof to do so; on the other hand, Canada does not intend to become a haven for criminals.

Not only Canada, but the world has now joined hands to fight international crimes – including those in the field of economics. When Lai fled China, he also carried a great deal of illegal money.

Last year, the UN Convention against corruption was signed. It declares that economic criminals should be the target of joint international anti-corruption efforts, since many of these criminals are truly international in their operations. Legal barriers among countries have been gradually removed and international co-operation strengthened.

Also last year, the National People’s Congress signed the UN Convention against transnational organized crime. It is the first international legal reference for anti-corruption, in which, the basic norms of anti-corruption have been set up. Rules of returning the transferred wealth have been made and it is also the first time an internationally co-operative mechanism of different levels has been established. These measures will help provide China with legal guarantees for hunting criminals fleeing abroad.

Zhou Guangquan, professor in Tsinghua University: China’s signing the UN Convention against transnational organized crime and UN Convention against corruption indicates that within the UN framework, China can take effective measures to combat transnational criminals. At the same time, it shows China’s drive for anti-corruption will become more internationally co-operative.

Never has global co-operation played such a big role in China’s anti-crime work, as co-operation in the areas has often been soured by disparities in judicial systems.

Meanwhile, transnational legal aid is always related to international extradition. The bilateral extraditing treaty is another problem in international legal aids. Signing such a treaty needs a prerequisite, that is, the recognition should be common towards a criminal and the punishment for the criminal should also be similar.

As for China’s current condition, it is hard to reach a common understanding on these issues, let alone signing the treaty of extradition. So most countries, which in the eyes of criminals fleeing China are havens beyond the law, have not signed such a treaty with China.

As for recovering illicit money, China maintains that the State-owned property should be recovered totally. But if it is recovered with help from the international community, the money should be divided in line with internationally recognized rules. It is another hurdle for extradition treaty.

He Fan, PhD candidate on international criminal law in Renmin University of China: As a notorious smuggling kingpin, Lai clearly knows he could not escape China’s legal sanction, so he began to apply for Canadian refugee status in 1998.

Refugee means a person who is forced to permanently leave his native country for reasons of political persecution, war or natural disaster. If the refugee status is confirmed, he cannot be repatriated to the original country.

Lai and his lawyer applied for refugee status in Canada by whitewashing Lai’s crimes and attacking China’s legal system, claiming that Lai would suffer from political persecution if he comes back. And due to the marathon nature of legal appeals, they also hoped to prolong his stay in Canada indefinitely.

But things went against his dreams when his application was rejected.

The first reason is the Canadian authorities conducted an investigation into his criminal history, and concluded crimes like Lai’s in smuggling and bribery are serious not only in China but also in Canada. It is nothing related to politics. Meanwhile, China also made efforts to provide details of Lai’s crimes to the Canadians.

Due to the huge fee of about 10 million Canadian dollars to pay for Lai’s case, Canadian media have expressed overwhelming dissatisfaction with him. Canada also does not want to jeopardize increasingly strengthened co-operation with China on fighting illegal drugs and money laundering.

Alleged Boss of China Smuggling Ring Presents Canada With a Conundrum Law
Nation doesn’t want to be seen as a haven for fugitives. But suspect sought by Beijing probably faces execution at home.

by MAGGIE FARLEY / Times Staff Writer
Source: Los Angeles Times, Wednesday, 12/6/00

NEW YORK–China’s most wanted criminal has suddenly become Canada’s most unwanted guest. Lai Changxing, accused by Beijing of masterminding a massive smuggling operation that spread to the government’s topmost levels, must remain in a Vancouver jail while Canada ponders whether to send him back to China, Canadian immigration officials decided Tuesday. But the case presents Canada with a conundrum: If he goes, he’s likely to face a firing squad. If he stays, Canada risks becoming a magnet for criminal refugees.

“There’s a balancing act,” said Ministry of Justice spokesman Peter Schnobb. “We try to look at both sides of the case, looking at the human rights aspect on one hand, and Canada becoming a safe haven for people coming here to avoid the death penalty. We don’t want to harbor these people.”

Canada has no death penalty and no extradition treaty with China, and it generally refuses to return fugitives to countries where they may be executed. Lai’s lawyers argue that 14 lower-ranking members of the smuggling ring already have been put to death and that, as the alleged leader, he is certain to face the same fate.

In special cases, the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with the consent of the Ministry of Justice, can decide to turn over a fugitive to a country without an extradition agreement, usually with assurances that the death penalty will not be imposed.

But the Chinese government is making no promises. Earlier this year, Canada deported suspected embezzler Yang Fong to China, with Beijing’s assurance that he would receive a 10-year sentence. Yang received a death sentence and was promptly executed.

Lawyer Alistair Boulton said Tuesday that his client, Lai, “has never been accused of trafficking drugs, people or weapons.”

“His alleged crime is that he has deprived the Communist Party of money. . . . Is that cause to send him to his death?” Boulton said.

As the smuggling scandal brings down a series of party bosses and government officials in China–70 have been arrested so far–Lai’s legend flourishes in his absence.

Once an uneducated farmer, he rode the fitful opening of the country’s economy to become a high-profile entrepreneur. From the southern port city of Xiamen, he reportedly orchestrated a smuggling operation to bring more than $6 billion of oil, cars, cigarettes, guns and mobile phones into China, often with the help of the military and customs officials.

Lai was known for his extravagant lifestyle and is alleged to have paid extensive bribes to lure top officials to his outfit. Military intelligence agents helped him secure entry into Hong Kong in 1991, the Chinese government says, and naval vessels reportedly escorted his cargo ships into Xiamen harbor.

In his application for refugee status in Canada, Lai claimed that he has confidential information and military intelligence that would be so damaging to China’s government that it wants him dead. Lai reportedly entertained government officials and secretly videotaped them with prostitutes for blackmail purposes.

Although official corruption is the top complaint among the Chinese people, the threat to the government is economic as well as political. The Chinese government says Lai’s activities cost it $3.6 billion in unpaid duties at a time when that money was sorely needed by the state. His bootleg oil made up so much of the market that after the crackdown, the price of gas in Xiamen rose about 30 cents a quart.

Lai was the “biggest tiger” targeted in a countrywide crackdown, but his prominence also made him think that he was invincible, Chinese officials said. In an attempt to win amnesty, Lai offered a $240-million bribe to Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, according to court documents.

But Lai’s political ties paid off. A Hong Kong official tipped him off the day before he was to be arrested, and he fled the country. He left behind millions of dollars, 11 residences, a soccer team and plans for Xiamen’s tallest building, an 88-story office tower.

He arrived in Canada in November 1999 with his wife, Tsai Mingna, and their three teenage children, and immediately bought a million-dollar home in Vancouver. Canadian authorities watched him carefully; they reported that he spent time with known Chinese gang members and lost half a million dollars gambling at a Niagara Falls casino, where he was arrested on an immigration violation last week.

Chinese authorities also were keeping a close eye on him and sent three agents to visit him in June. Two of his brothers had been arrested in the scandal, and one was brought along to pressure Lai to return home. He refused and, two days later, applied for political asylum in Canada. The Canadian government has been wrestling with his situation since then.

There may be one politically palatable solution: Because Lai came to Canada on a Hong Kong passport, he may be sent there instead of China. Hong Kong has a readmission agreement with Canada and no death penalty. Although Hong Kong has been a special administrative region of China since 1997, it has never extradited a fugitive to the mainland because of differences in the judicial systems.

Sending Lai to Hong Kong could save face for Canada, but it may not save his neck. The Chinese government claims that Lai’s Hong Kong passport could be nullified because it was obtained with the help of bribed officials. Hong Kong officials would have to decide whether to invalidate the document and would certainly come under extreme pressure from Beijing to do so. In the meantime, Canada mulls its next step.

“The government has been talking quietly with Beijing, negotiating this,” said Boulton, the lawyer. “But in Beijing, they have already held the trial and decided what his sentence will be.”

Canada’s Haven: For Notorious Fugitives, Too?
By JAMES BROOKE
Published: December 29, 2000
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OTTAWA— From a Vancouver detention cell, Lai Changxing, the man charged with masterminding the largest corruption scandal in modern Chinese history, presents Canada with a devilish dilemma.

Deport him to China for trial on economic charges, an almost certain guarantee that he would be executed? Or grant China’s most-wanted man asylum and unwillingly tell the world that Canada is a sunny place for shady people, a haven for international suspects facing excessive punishment at home?

”Canada is clearly not a safe haven for criminals,” Murray Wilkinson, a Canadian immigration enforcement officer, said recently at a political refugee hearing in Vancouver. Referring to Mr. Lai and his wife, Tsang Mingna, who is also under detention, he charged that they were ”trying to hide behind the refugee system of Canada.”

The case has implications for the United States. An American interagency report released this month by the White House said Canada had become a North American port of entry and haven for Asian gang leaders, who could ”conduct criminal activities that impact our country.”

Traditionally, Canada, a liberal country without a death penalty, has resisted deporting asylum applicants who are likely to be tortured or executed after returning home.

But Mr. Lai, 42, who quietly appears at detention hearings dressed in green prison garb, is no ordinary asylum applicant. And China is no ordinary petitioner. Two months from now, Canada, which wants to diversify trade and reduce dependence on the United States, is to send to China a 10-day trade mission of 300 business executives, led by Prime Minister Jean Chretien.

Mr. Lai, according to court documents sent from China, was the kingpin of an enterprise that smuggled $6.4 billion worth of goods into China, evading $3.6 billion in duties.