A Canadian federal court has denied sanctuary for one of China's
most-wanted man, smuggling ringleader Lai Changxing, but its ruling
appeared to leave open the possibility for further
appeals.?
Lai is the mastermind behind a network based in Xiamen, Fujian
Province, responsible for smuggling as much as US$10 billion
worth of goods into the country, the biggest smuggling case since
the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Lai, his wife Zeng Mingna, and their three children arrived in
Canada in August 1999 after fleeing Chinese mainland by way of Hong
Kong. Lai and his family have been applying for refugee status in
Canada.
It is reported that President Hu Jintao had sent then Canadian
Prime Minister Jean Chretien a diplomatic note with assurances that
the alleged smuggling kingpin would not be executed, after being
sent back to China.
Canadian law forbids capital punishment.
In a decision released in June 2002, Canada's Immigration and
Refugee Board found Lai and Zeng were "not credible and that there
were serious reasons for considering Lai had committed crimes of
smuggling and bribery."
On Thursday the three-judge federal panel denied Lai's appeal
bid, ruling that the refugee board had acted correctly three years
ago.
But the judges left open the case for further appeals, saying
the court would allow a pre-removal risk assessment.
Lai's Canadian lawyer, David Matas, said that Lai will take the
case to the Supreme Court of Canada within 60 days.
(China Daily April 16, 2005)