- \+ B9 J0 F9 W) k* p. Eos.tvboxnow.comTHE GLOBE AND MAIL公仔箱論壇4 v% r, _1 l6 i, j( g. U" [
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Chinese fugitive faces quick deportation after Federal Court loss SUNNY DHILLON VANCOUVER— Globe and Mail Update Published Thursday, Jul. 21, 2011 8:50PM EDTLast updated Friday, Jul. 22, 2011 4:35AM EDT Hailing assurances from the Chinese government that it will not torture or execute Lai Changxing as “strict, clear and unequivocal,” a Federal Court judge ruled against the high-profile fugitive, setting the stage for his deportation and ending a legal saga that has long hampered relations between Ottawa and Beijing. / i: o' O9 ?# }
Mr. Lai, who’s accused of masterminding a multibillion-dollar smuggling network that imported consumer goods in the city of Xiamen, had asked the court to stay a deportation order issued against him. The 52-year-old feared that like his brother and accountant he would meet a mysterious prison death. 公仔箱論壇8 k; u' E6 ]# F* c8 m
But Mr. Justice Michel Shore said the assurances provided by the Chinese government nullified those concerns, capping a deportation fight that began when Mr. Lai was picked up at a Niagara Falls casino in 2000. / G. Q; t `4 X- Q- V r“It is assumed that the assurances of the Chinese government, as per its written promises, will be kept, as the Chinese government’s honour and face is, and will be, bound and kept respectively, by the monitoring for the lifetime of the applicant...,” Judge Shore wrote in his ruling, issued late Thursday. 1 a9 C; ]$ ~9 l1 J# vJudge Shore said a new contractual government to government climate has been created by the assurances and Mr. Lai’s life is in China’s hands. He said the assurances, which also allow Canadian officials to visit Mr. Lai and sit in on some of his court hearings, “augur hope for a different way to be taken, in a newly unfolded path to which the Chinese government’s signature has been officially affixed for the commitments undertaken. The future, yet to be seen by both countries and others, will stand as witness to the outcome.” + C. r: `, x3 s1 |, J9 z, A3 d+ Aos.tvboxnow.comThe judge isn’t the only one to recently address a new relationship between Canada and China. TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。5 o8 M" n- t( S+ d: Q
Mr. Lai was arrested just days before Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird headed to Beijing to bolster ties between the two countries. During his trip, Mr. Baird called China an “important ally” and asserted a “strategic partnership” on matters such as energy, natural resources, and international affairs. It was a change in tone from the early days of the Stephen Harper government, when comments about human2 ~1 p5 R/ e- D- [
rights annoyed China, and Mr. Harper initially chose not to visit. Mr. Baird indicated the Conservative government felt little sympathy for Mr. Lai’s plight. : ?( x( b5 W& |: A& HIn a statement posted on the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s website, spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said: “We welcome the court's decision in Canada.” 7 s' d( y0 r* T4 t
When Mr. Lai will be deported remains unclear. The Canada Border Services Agency had first indicated it would remove him on July 25. But hours before the judgment was issued, a government lawyer said he could be sent back as early as Saturday. Judge Shore said Mr. Lai was scheduled to be “removal ready” on Friday. , B d! v9 z. H; H- [/ F; I. B! Wtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb“The CBSA does not share information about when a removal order will be enforced for the safety and security of all those involved,” a CBSA spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail. She said under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, removal orders must be enforced as soon as possible and that’s what the agency is committed to doing. / \% s( u$ N& d; o
How long officials can keep the removal under wraps remains to be seen, with dozens of reporters following the case, creating a circus-like atmosphere at each hearing. os.tvboxnow.com5 F) O- m. J( ?- {5 ^- Z: E
Darryl Larson, one of Mr. Lai’s lawyers, had indicated to reporters Wednesday that Mr. Lai might be able to extend his time in Canada by asking the court to weigh in on a certified question. But David Matas, Mr. Lai’s other counsel, clarified those remarks Thursday and said his client could only ask such a question if the court ruled in his favour. * K4 M& s+ \& jWhen asked if Mr. Lai had any legal options left if the court ruled against him, Mr. Matas simply told The Globe and Mail: “No.” & w8 V; ^+ x! d" E& G& v4 gos.tvboxnow.com : q( H' `2 s5 j5 p6 }* f/ ytvb now,tvbnow,bttvb tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb4 x; _7 ]! K4 U E
During the federal court. C2 e6 B; j/ h; W: k0 ]! H
hearing, Mr. Matas had scoffed at the assurances provided by the Chinese government. He said they didn’t go far enough, wouldn’t keep his client safe, and wouldn’t ensure he received a fair trial. 4 O2 d/ ? w% a- W5 G) y) uTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。He told the court Canadians were only promised access to “open court,” meaning officials couldn’t attend any hearings closed to the public – common practice for politically sensitive proceedings. He added that it would be next to impossible to find a lawyer to represent Mr. Lai who wasn’t influenced by the Communist Party, since the government had turned him into the “poster boy” for corruption. ! D' x$ F# n) t' f. I
But Judge Shore said none of the issues raised by Mr. Lai, due to the Chinese government’s assurances, amounted to clear and convincing proof necessary to support his irreparable harm claim. $ h' A- s* Z. a7 ~TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。“Mr. Lai has provided no evidence in support of his stay motion that he would now be at risk upon return to China, due to the specific assurances provided.” os.tvboxnow.com. A) ^0 D0 [2 w, C
“Furthermore, it is apparent that Mr. Lai has been negotiating his return to China with the Chinese authorities,” the judge wrote, referring to evidence put forward by government lawyers. “This willingness to engage in negotiations to return to China belies the alleged risk of return to China.” 4 {: }5 x7 C `# h& [tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbJudge Shore called Mr. Lai a “common criminal fugitive” who had full access to Canada’s immigration process over the last 11 years. 公仔箱論壇/ W" I- L1 G- N; I1 z
In an interview with The Globe and Mail two years ago, Mr. Lai admitted skirting the law, but said he was merely taking advantage of perceived loopholes at a time of murky custom regulations. & L* H2 M. x, j3 s/ i, N+ m5 GHe’s been held at a Maple Ridge jail since his arrest two weeks ago. TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。( x- g. J. ]$ ^7 [2 v( z: B
In 2007, the Federal Court came to Mr. Lai’s rescue by overturning an Immigration Canada finding that he faced no risk if returned to China. The judge in that case ordered a new report, with more emphasis on the risk of torture. It took the government agency four years to complete its assessment. $ [, a' C6 q# }. }& t6 B
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本帖最後由 aa00 於 2011-7-26 12:35 PM 編輯 7 k8 m& g+ O$ v3 u5 X- V8 B
TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。% P0 e8 [3 }- m9 s! r# T
THE STAR China’s most wanted, Lai Changxing, comes home to arrest 4 \$ V0 Z) R8 `+ F3 T3 t: I( PTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Published On Sat Jul 23 2011 TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。; r; R# ?) i1 E4 i. C. \
9 g6 t" I( L) |* |. \/ i, ]. C公仔箱論壇 Fugitive Chinese businessman Lai Changxing is escorted by Chinese authorities after landing in the Chinese capital.! H, `( c" V8 D _& p* \9 N2 c
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/ q! ~5 g) X1 H, [公仔箱論壇 By Bill Schiller Asia Bureau TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。) V6 S( @$ [' m, q! t2 J; Z
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3 ]; ?& e0 v& B* a公仔箱論壇 ' S3 H, Z9 F' ]( y* Q: BTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。9 G0 \4 x1 J: R
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BEIJING—China’s most wanted man, Lai Changxing, was welcomed home by the strong arm of the law Saturday, when he was off-loaded in handcuffs from an Air Canada flight from Vancouver by two burly police officers wearing white gloves. ( M* p8 ]4 C n$ b& o9 W O* Jtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbFor Lai, the alleged mastermind of a multi-billion dollar smuggling operation in China in the 1990s, it was the end of the road after 12 years on the run.4 }# l- x. X$ M4 U2 B7 n; l, h! ^
For the Chinese government, it was “a triumph for justice,” said state media.os.tvboxnow.com$ O; |) d, Q6 O$ J7 g
“Lai’s repatriation once again shows that no matter where a criminal suspect flees, he or she cannot evade legal sanctions in the end,” the Ministry of Public Security said. 2 O$ Y1 F2 v. j, v3 C0 G; s5 GLai was deported from Canada Friday after a federal court judge upheld a deportation order, calling Lai “a common criminal.”tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb+ t: |0 I' \3 @, m1 z2 J( j% `2 v
Chinese officials here said police informed Lai that he was under arrest on his arrival, read him his rights – including the right to hire lawyers – and took him into custody. 4 n. L0 A- w; G7 wChinese television showed a bespectacled Lai, 53, with thinning hair, wearing a light green polo shirt and dark slacks, firmly in the grasp of police as he alighted from the plane at about 4:45 p.m. local time.% T# ^/ |& ~/ x& Z
Lv Rushun, a Taiwanese woman on the flight told The Star that Lai had been accompanied by “three or four” Canadian security personnel, and kept in the very last row of the plane.& S! I2 K9 V- Z$ u0 {
“Not everyone on the flight knew who he was,” she smiled. “But I did.”公仔箱論壇 D8 X4 _: F. `/ b& e
It was testament to the fact that Lai is still a legend here. 5 i9 P3 c$ C, E公仔箱論壇But under the current circumstances he appeared small and not at all like a man who once shook the very foundations of the powerful Communist Party.% S U4 P& _. B$ G! S8 s
But he did, allegedly by buying off local, provincial and even central government politicians with liquor, money and women in whatever quantities were needed to keep his operations running smoothly. " p* w6 Y5 J! D1 e5 b/ L' Gtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbAnd the operations did, so smoothly that the government later wrote in a detailed report that Lai’s enterprises had hauled in $6.8 billion in goods and evaded $3.8 billion in taxes before he bolted in 1999, landing in Canada with his wife and two children on tourist visas.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb1 T. E! P, ]) t- Y: M: f
The ministry said Saturday that Lai’s massive operations had “seriously disrupted China’s economic order and created huge economic losses for the nation.” % f* W: T a( M) m2 ytvb now,tvbnow,bttvbChinese media however were careful over the weekend to portray Lai’s enterprise as mainly a local operation, contained in the southern Chinese city of Xiamen – aided and abetted by bad, local officials there.TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。; M R9 }: l* \6 J1 J: Y; h$ T
In truth, Lai’s influence reached into powerful provincial government circles and indeed right into Zhongnanhai, the central government’s headquarters in Beijing. : d- y. r, B3 K# ^/ h+ kTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。No mention was made in Saturday news reports, for example, that Lai’s smuggling operations would never have succeeded were it not for the backing of Li Jizhou, then vice-minister of Public Security – the man who was actually supposed to be leading the government’s campaign to stop smuggling across the country.公仔箱論壇$ R y' n9 `+ \& d" b
But Lai, an illiterate peasant with a grade three education, persuaded Li to help him. ) J' N% m; V* F. _. P( O' nos.tvboxnow.comThe vice-minister was later given the death penalty, but his sentence was eventually commuted to life.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb. k4 F" B* f: r
Thirteen others were also given death sentences, at least eight of whom have been executed.' h7 z% A9 o5 E
Lai will not suffer that fate, whatever the outcome of his trial, because Chinese authorities had to give Canada a written undertaking that he would not face the death penalty – a pre-condition to his deportation. ' c! D+ z2 {6 }: [0 }4 m2 mos.tvboxnow.comLai’s eventual trial, which is not expected to be “open” in any real sense since Chinese courts rarely allow people to attend, will almost certainly be held up as a showcase for the government’s ongoing battle against corruption.tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb% A( f+ ]% j' _' D9 u
In fact, the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper declared Saturday that Lai’s repatriation to face justice, “proves the Chinese government’s strong resolution to combating corruption.” z: P2 u7 Z, y8 e5 _
Still, government corruption is endemic in China. 0 C5 P3 F% d* j7 `! D" `: O6 wEven as people were reading about Lai’s repatriation this week, news landed that a former vice chairman of China Mobile, one of the country’s biggest state-owed telecommunications companies, was sentenced to death for pocketing more than $1 million in bribes. ! I" H1 k u! K6 Q, a! X/ D( `tvb now,tvbnow,bttvbIn fact the government’s own recently released figures show that more than 28,700 government officials were convicted of wrongdoing in 2010 – with close to 6,000 of those sentenced to more than five years in prison. - b% `" H' w- P0 oThis week one Beijing taxicab driver opined that he didn’t believe Lai Changxing’s legendary charm was the key ingredient in his success. % l; E, d' ^9 a1 V" T# Otvb now,tvbnow,bttvb“It’s our officials,” he said. “They’re too eager to take whatever they can get.”os.tvboxnow.com5 ?3 k( { L& [% M
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% t$ L5 @- O) e5 ~os.tvboxnow.com 4 Z6 N: u$ ]% `' w1 N) v0 e公仔箱論壇China Arrests Its Most-Wanted Fugitive After Canada Deports Him ( h$ V. w2 U$ s! h. `os.tvboxnow.comBy IAN JOHNSON and MICHAEL WINESPublished: July 23, 2011 + A, w3 W9 o. J7 x9 i7 C" n; v. W7 y+ eTVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。 ) u9 |/ I' N6 W: gtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb" u# \& q4 h/ w8 r5 H' H
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BEIJING — In a closely watched case that could affect Chinese citizens in other Western countries, state security officials arrested China’s most-wanted fugitive on Saturday after Canadian authorities deported him, ending more than a decade of attempts to escape imprisonment here. 4 c# [& L4 X0 x9 K4 p5 Mos.tvboxnow.com ) ~0 \1 B2 t$ ~; r公仔箱論壇 4 Y6 e& h/ l C! ~ 1 z: K" c$ Z2 F3 G: Y: Etvb now,tvbnow,bttvb ( i4 Q6 g! O* i# U" R3 h v6 Vtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbZhang Jianxin/Xinhua, via Associated Press 公仔箱論壇1 N% U I2 e; O# _5 I; x% N
- y1 A+ T }4 o" {Lai Changxing, 53, who is accused of running a corruption ring that caused government upheaval in the late 1990s, signed a warrant issued for his arrest as he arrived in Beijing on Saturday. - E. p$ h* h7 L4 Q/ c: A( d. F% Wtvb now,tvbnow,bttvb 2 O8 Q5 o$ K% ]tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb os.tvboxnow.com. S' H# H# w7 d5 i
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The former fugitive, Lai Changxing, 53, is suspected of leading a corruption ring that caused a major government upheaval in the late 1990s, touching the man widely expected to be chosen next year to lead China, Vice President Xi Jinping. 4 j4 o& G n$ y/ c; e# `tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb 4 T/ ~; G/ N' j2 o4 W% G$ U) g; ?Mr. Lai is accused of overseeing a smuggling ring from Xiamen, a coastal city opposite Taiwan, that netted as much as $10 billion before he fled China in August 1999. He later flew to Canada from Hong Kong and sought protection as a refugee, saying he faced torture or death should he be returned to China. 7 z& C( Z7 w! B. V C5 ctvb now,tvbnow,bttvbMr. Lai’s 11-year legal battle to remain in Canada has long soured the two nations’ diplomatic relations. 公仔箱論壇+ ^ z4 H! e0 ?
His lawyer, David Matas, has said that both Mr. Lai’s accountant and his brother had died of unknown causes while in prison, and that Mr. Lai could face the same fate. China’s legal system could not provide him a fair trial, Mr. Matas contended. 4 h8 u! \' }' e L) los.tvboxnow.comBut on Thursday, a Canadian federal court ruled against Mr. Lai, calling him a “common criminal” and saying it largely accepted as “strict, clear and unequivocal” China’s pledges that it would not torture or execute him. He was placed on a Beijing-bound airplane the next day, and was arrested after he landed on Saturday. 8 c* q$ ^7 h& ]" }TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。Chinese authorities have also promised the Canadian government that Mr. Lai will be tried in public and will be allowed to mount a defense against the smuggling charges. On Friday, China’s Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision, which capped years of exhaustive diplomatic efforts to have Mr. Lai returned to China to stand trial. In a statement quoted by the official news agency, Xinhua, the State Security Ministry said that “no matter where a criminal suspect flees, he or she cannot evade legal sanctions in the end.” # ~# R+ k# M1 O' t$ y3 V公仔箱論壇In Beijing, the state-run English-language newspaper China Daily reported Saturday that Mr. Lai could face life in prison. 5 E0 r2 U# m% f( [0 k; G, h# X, U
Some Western human rights organizations have cast doubt on China’s guarantees of a fair trial. A Hong Kong-based researcher for Human Rights Watch, Nicholas Bequelin, said in an interview that China was likely to avoid “blatant procedural violations” in order to show Western countries that it could deal fairly with sensitive cases, like those of Uighur separatists who have claimed asylum in the West but are charged with crimes in China. tvb now,tvbnow,bttvb; Q; @2 u3 q' w2 R+ {% I& {: q
“This is undoubtedly a test case,” Mr. Bequelin said. “It will establish a precedent, and much is at stake.” TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。* X* K) R' K3 X$ f! F- i1 C
The case centers on Mr. Lai’s activities in the freewheeling coastal “special economic zone” of Xiamen (formerly known as Amoy), which was under Mr. Xi’s purview when he was governor of Fujian Province. According to reports at the time, Mr. Lai’s flight led the country’s leadership to summon Mr. Xi to Beijing to explain how such an elaborate corruption ring had been allowed to flourish under his watch. ' E3 Z ]& e, v* U% M7 jtvb now,tvbnow,bttvbMr. Lai was head of the Yuanhua group, which built an 88-story tower in Xiamen as well as clubs and housing developments. He was accused of heading a $10 billion scheme to bribe customs officials to import cars and oil into China, evading millions of dollars in taxes. Before fleeing, he had enjoyed widespread government support, including a prestigious position with a group that advises the governing Communist Party on policy. ( v, r K% k% F" m1 {
Mr. Lai was first arrested in Canada a year after he fled, at a casino in Niagara Falls. Canadian courts consistently rejected his claim to asylum status but refused to send him back to China. TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。& M& z: Q) D0 B! [1 i y* M
The atmosphere changed this year after the newly elected government of Stephen Harper sent its foreign minister to China. Reversing the government’s previous critical stance on China’s human rights record, he hailed China as a strategic ally and, referring to Mr. Lai, said that “both the Canadian people and the Chinese people don’t have a lot of time for white-collar fraudsters.” TVBNOW 含有熱門話題,最新最快電視,軟體,遊戲,電影,動漫及日常生活及興趣交流等資訊。7 a/ \! a8 X3 W9 i5 W, J. D