Lai Changxing
Encyclopedia
Lai Changxing began as a Chinese businessman and entrepreneur from Jinjiang, Fujian, People's Republic of China. He was the founder and Chairman of the lucrative Yuanhua Group in the Special Economic Zone
of Xiamen
. At his height he has been credited with converting China from communism to capitalism and bringing the country into the World Trade Organization
. He imported foreign products like cars, cigarettes and was responsible for one-sixth of the national oil imports at one time. In the late 1990s his success implicated in a large smuggling ring involving corruption scandals. By 1999 he was arrested and has been described by several media organizations as "China's most wanted fugitive". Though some have maintained he is a victim of a government witchhunt and that he is a "defender of the free market
". He resided in Vancouver
, Canada until July 22, 2011, when Canadian authorities extradited
him to China.
. He has also been referred as "Gentleman thief" and "Bandit King". He also has some common nicknames such as "Fat Lai", "Fatty Lai".
Fujian province in 1958, year of the Great Leap Forward
. He grew up in Shaocuo village (烧厝村). He nearly starved to death due to the Great Chinese Famine. His family survived because his father converted a swamp into a personal vegetable field during the difficult years. Lai received almost no formal education as he spent one year in school before the Cultural Revolution
shut his school down. Though some sources claim he received three years of education.
. He began working at a farming machinery factory before it shutdown. At 20 he started a business making simple car parts. The business took off and turned into an empire. Within a decade he was the country's biggest private car importer.
rule to bribe everyone.
's status as a Special Economic Zone
. The group was heavily involved in the importing/smuggling of cars, cigarettes, oil. The group invested heavily in the city's real estate, hotels, clubs, roads and other infrastructures. Lai also has his own brand of Fairwell cigarettes.
In the mid 1990s Xiamen no longer regulated maximum building heights. Many rich business men tried to build the tallest skyscrapers. Lai build the 88-floor Yuanhua tower and the Yuanhua International Centre with a ground breaking ceremony attended by 2000 guests. Each guest received a 3000 yuan red envelope
. Lai had prominent connections with the Fujian power elite; he was also a member of the Provincial Consultative Conference.
Lai was believed to be the mastermind of a US$10 billion scheme, during which he allegedly bribed high level officials in the administration of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone in order to smuggle luxury cars and entire tanker-loads of oil into the country. The smuggling ring fraudulently avoid US$3.6 billion in taxes and fees. Chinese authorities do not comment on allegations that Lai's Yuanhua group was also a conduit for clandestine military shipments, such as Silkworm missiles.
In 1996 Xiamen airport
's terminal building 2 funded by Lai was one of the biggest airport structure in the country. In 1997 Xiamen's party secretary even made him an honorary citizen (厦门荣誉市民). In 1998 he spent 2 million yuan to purchase a football team based in Foshan
, Guangzhou and disbanded the team. He then moved all the players to Xiamen to create the Xiamen Lanshi F.C., and helped the team promote to the Chinese Super League
. He even made his own film starring himself as a football star to improve his image.
He build a 7-story building called the Red mansion (红楼), named after the classical story Dream of a Red Mansion
. The mansion hired girls that were at least 5 ft 6 inches tall and have a highschool diploma at a salary of US$1000 a month. The girls were offered as sex mistresses and prostitutes to government officials.
Lai has his own Forbidden City
replica (远华影视城) built with US$20 million that act as a film production studio. He typically drove sedans. His armoured Mercedes was formerly owned by Chinese president Jiang Zemin
.
, major general of military intelligence for the People's Liberation Army
. Ji Shengde is the son of former Secretary General of the State Council
Ji Pengfei
.
Singer Dong Wenhua
was offered 10 million yuan if she took her clothes off for Lai, who was drunk at the time. She did take off her clothes for the money, and disappeared from public view. She returned to state-run television after 3 years. Others include Li Jizhou (李纪周), deputy minister for public security and Hu Ganlu (许甘露), Immigration secretary. Other corrupt officials include Liu Feng (刘丰), Zhuang Rushun (庄如顺), Lan Fu (蓝甫), Yang Qianxian (杨前线), Shi Zhaobin (石兆彬), Zhao Keming (赵克明). Some of them have already received sentences in the past.
Chinese Premier
Zhu Rongji
, known for his anti-corruption stands and known for saying Lai needs to be executed many times publicly, actually met Lai twice. In one meeting an offer was made for Lai to pay US$125 million in exchange for amnesty
. This suggested the entire government knew of Lai's corruption for a long time. Lai also gave money to Zhu Niuniu, son of former deputy commander of China's 31st army from Xiamen. Zhu constantly threatened to expose Lai's smuggling if he did not help him with his financial problem from gambling at the Macau casinos
.
Lai himself was an apprentice to then president Jiang Zemin
. At the height of Lai's corruption in the 1990s, the Fujian party chief was Jia Qinglin
.Xi Jinping
was the Fujian governor. Xi is scheduled to be the next President of the People's Republic of China
after Hu Jintao
.
that he was in HK because he was a friend of Leung Kam-kwong, a HK officer who died in honor
during the 2000 HK immigration center fire. Because of this claimed relationship with the officer, he was hinted of an arrest warrants after him by the immigration department. The department then suggested he move to Canada. The HK government later responded that the claim was totally baseless as the officer was already dead and cannot defend himself.
Vancouver. His kids went to private schools at a cost of US$4,000 a year and his wife opened a bank account with a deposit of US$1.5 million. They were chauffeur-driven around in a US$90,000 SUV. In 1999 he was detained apparently caught on a 28 day gambling spree at Niagara Falls
casino
. Lai was a regular customer at the casino where at one time bought as much as US$3 million worth of chips. Canadian police noticed him and suspected he was involved in money laundering or loan-sharking.
The family used a HKSAR passport
to emigrate to Canada.
Following heavy pressure from Beijing, Lai's Hong Kong permanent residency
and HKSAR passport were revoked in 2002 by the Hong Kong Government, saying that he obtained the status dishonestly. Lai divorced his wife in June 2005. In 2009 Lai was granted a working permit and worked at a Vancouver real-estate company as a consultant.
Lai has denied criminal wrongdoing, and stated that the allegations are politically motivated. Others like Pierre Lemieux
defended Lai, saying he is only a criminal because of China's communist economic system and that with a free market, there would be no need for smugglers like Lai. Mainland Chinese
websites could write about Lai as long as he was depicted as evil.
Lai's attorney, Winnipeg
lawyer David Matas
, says it is doubtful Lai could ever get a fair trial in China, given the extent of communist party influence in the opaque judicial system. Matas has filed for an assessment of whether Lai's family are at risk if they are returned to China. As long as immigration officials are considering this request, he says, they may not be removed from Canada.
Nevertheless, Lai has repeatedly been denied political refugee status in Canada, most recently in September 2005 by the Supreme Court in Ottawa
. This seconded the Federal Court of Appeal
, which in April had refused to hear Lai's appeal of the June 2002 Refugee Board decision, on the grounds that Lai and his wife failed to meet the standards to be designated as refugees.
Canada does not have the death penalty and is prohibited from deporting accused criminals to countries where they will face capital punishment. China claimed that he would not be executed if extradited from Canada. Canadian courts did not believe this guarantee, due to certain CPC bias in any trial and as 14 others involved in the complex Xiamen racket have already been executed. Svend Robinson
, then New Democratic Party
member of parliament for Burnaby-Douglas, also noted that Lai's brother died in a Fujian labour-camp after receiving a lesser sentence. The likelihood of a de facto death sentence remains an obstacle to his deportation.
On February 3, 2009, the Canadian Government granted Lai a work permit. Canadian officials have acknowledged that Lai does not have access to the vast fortune they thought he had upon arrival in Canada back in 1999. Lai has said his legal and living expenses are being funded by friends, whom he has declined to identify, saying they could be in danger if the Chinese government knew their names. Though the Canadian government allowed him to swap their detention cell for a luxury apartment in Burnaby Vancouver.
On July 8, 2011, John Baird
, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
, said that, the extradition of Lai must accord to the program of Canadian Laws independently. In early time, Lai's Refugee Application was refused, with the possibility of extradition to China.
was "critically ill". That evening, TV station ATV
reported on its evening news bulletin that Jiang had died in Beijing. Xinhua news agency
, quoting “authoritative sources”, declared that overseas media reports of Jiang's death were "pure rumour".
Dissident website Boxun.com
had reported on July 6, 2011, a source as saying: "Former leader Jiang died at midnight at Beijing 301 Hospital." At approximately 3 pm, it issued a correction: "We reported that Jiang was in critical condition or died based on several sources, but a figure in Beijing called us at noon to inform us that his condition has improved."
The disappearance of Jiang was later tied to the public re-appearance of Lai Changxing. Lai have said publicly in the past that if he returned to China:
His corruption is known to have reached the top levels of the Chinese government. In 2001 Jiang Zemin even sent a letter to Canadian prime minister
Jean Chrétien
that if Lai returned to China, he will be executed. In relation to the case, 14 people have already been executed, about 300 provincial officials have already been put on trial. Since 2002 Beijing sent secret police to follow him wherever he went.
and boarded Air Canada
flight 29 for Beijing. He was officially handed over to the Chinese Police on July 23, 2011, and signed an arrest warrant
issued for his arrest upon his arrival in Beijing. This event could remove a significant obstacle in Sino-Canadian relations, as Canadian minister of foreign affairs John Baird is adopting a proactive approach, promoting stronger ties between both nations. Spokesman of the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs
has expressed satisfaction concerning this decision, referring to Lai as responsible for the "biggest economical crime in the history of the People's Republic of China."
.
Special Economic Zone
A Special Economic Zone is a geographical region that has economic and other laws that are more free-market-oriented than a country's typical or national laws...
of Xiamen
Xiamen
Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...
. At his height he has been credited with converting China from communism to capitalism and bringing the country into the World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
. He imported foreign products like cars, cigarettes and was responsible for one-sixth of the national oil imports at one time. In the late 1990s his success implicated in a large smuggling ring involving corruption scandals. By 1999 he was arrested and has been described by several media organizations as "China's most wanted fugitive". Though some have maintained he is a victim of a government witchhunt and that he is a "defender of the free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
". He resided in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, Canada until July 22, 2011, when Canadian authorities extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
him to China.
Names
Despite building a massive wealth empire, he often handed money taken from the government to the poor, where his style has been compared to that of Robin HoodRobin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
. He has also been referred as "Gentleman thief" and "Bandit King". He also has some common nicknames such as "Fat Lai", "Fatty Lai".
Childhood
Lai was born one of eight siblings in Jinjiang QuanzhouQuanzhou
Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city in Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders all other prefecture-level cities in Fujian but two and faces the Taiwan Strait...
Fujian province in 1958, year of the Great Leap Forward
Great Leap Forward
The Great Leap Forward of the People's Republic of China was an economic and social campaign of the Communist Party of China , reflected in planning decisions from 1958 to 1961, which aimed to use China's vast population to rapidly transform the country from an agrarian economy into a modern...
. He grew up in Shaocuo village (烧厝村). He nearly starved to death due to the Great Chinese Famine. His family survived because his father converted a swamp into a personal vegetable field during the difficult years. Lai received almost no formal education as he spent one year in school before the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
shut his school down. Though some sources claim he received three years of education.
Factory worker
At age 18 Chairman Mao died and businesses were allowed to function again under Deng XiaopingDeng Xiaoping
Deng Xiaoping was a Chinese politician, statesman, and diplomat. As leader of the Communist Party of China, Deng was a reformer who led China towards a market economy...
. He began working at a farming machinery factory before it shutdown. At 20 he started a business making simple car parts. The business took off and turned into an empire. Within a decade he was the country's biggest private car importer.
TV business
In 1990 Lai tried to run a business to import duty-free TVs, where he made thousands. Two government officials from Shaocuo demanded fees be paid to them. When Lai refused, the two officials went to his house. At the time Lai was not home, but his sister was. The officials asked for business accounts, but she refused to give in. She was then beaten severely and sent to the hospital. The officials then started a tax fraud case. Lai would win in court, but his revenge campaign against Communist officials would tie up his businesses. Lai left Shaocuo and from this point on, played by the Communist partyCommunist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...
rule to bribe everyone.
Yuanhua group
In 1994 Lai founded Fairwell Group, also known as Yuanhua Group (远华集团有限公司), a prominent group of upstart companies that took advantage of the economic boom of XiamenXiamen
Xiamen , also known as Amoy , is a major city on the southeast coast of the People's Republic of China. It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of and population of 3.53 million...
's status as a Special Economic Zone
Special Economic Zone
A Special Economic Zone is a geographical region that has economic and other laws that are more free-market-oriented than a country's typical or national laws...
. The group was heavily involved in the importing/smuggling of cars, cigarettes, oil. The group invested heavily in the city's real estate, hotels, clubs, roads and other infrastructures. Lai also has his own brand of Fairwell cigarettes.
In the mid 1990s Xiamen no longer regulated maximum building heights. Many rich business men tried to build the tallest skyscrapers. Lai build the 88-floor Yuanhua tower and the Yuanhua International Centre with a ground breaking ceremony attended by 2000 guests. Each guest received a 3000 yuan red envelope
Red envelope
In Chinese and other Asian societies, a red envelope or red packet is a monetary gift which is given during holidays or special occasions.-Usage:Red envelopes are mainly presented at social and family gatherings such as...
. Lai had prominent connections with the Fujian power elite; he was also a member of the Provincial Consultative Conference.
Lai was believed to be the mastermind of a US$10 billion scheme, during which he allegedly bribed high level officials in the administration of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone in order to smuggle luxury cars and entire tanker-loads of oil into the country. The smuggling ring fraudulently avoid US$3.6 billion in taxes and fees. Chinese authorities do not comment on allegations that Lai's Yuanhua group was also a conduit for clandestine military shipments, such as Silkworm missiles.
In 1996 Xiamen airport
Xiamen Gaoqi International Airport
-Cargo airlines:-See also:*List of airports in the People's Republic of China*China's busiest airports by passenger traffic-External links:*...
's terminal building 2 funded by Lai was one of the biggest airport structure in the country. In 1997 Xiamen's party secretary even made him an honorary citizen (厦门荣誉市民). In 1998 he spent 2 million yuan to purchase a football team based in Foshan
Foshan
Foshan is a city in central Guangdong province in southern China. The prefectural area under the city's jurisdiction over an area of about 3,840 km² and a population of 5.4 million of which 1.1 million reside in the city proper ....
, Guangzhou and disbanded the team. He then moved all the players to Xiamen to create the Xiamen Lanshi F.C., and helped the team promote to the Chinese Super League
Chinese Super League
The Chinese Football Association Super League , commonly known as Chinese Super League or CSL, currently known as the Pirelli Chinese Football Association Super League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest tier of professional association football in China, operating under the auspices of the...
. He even made his own film starring himself as a football star to improve his image.
He build a 7-story building called the Red mansion (红楼), named after the classical story Dream of a Red Mansion
Dream of the Red Chamber
Dream of the Red Chamber , composed by Cao Xueqin, is one of China's Four Great Classical Novels. It was composed in the middle of the 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. It is considered to be a masterpiece of Chinese vernacular literature and is generally acknowledged to be a pinnacle of...
. The mansion hired girls that were at least 5 ft 6 inches tall and have a highschool diploma at a salary of US$1000 a month. The girls were offered as sex mistresses and prostitutes to government officials.
Lai has his own Forbidden City
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City was the Chinese imperial palace from the Ming Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty. It is located in the middle of Beijing, China, and now houses the Palace Museum...
replica (远华影视城) built with US$20 million that act as a film production studio. He typically drove sedans. His armoured Mercedes was formerly owned by Chinese president Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
.
Relations with corrupt people
Lai is known to be financially linked with high-ranking Chinese officials and celebrities. Some of the people include Ji ShengdeJi Shengde
Ji Shengde was a major-general in charge of military intelligence in the People's Liberation Army of the People's Republic of China until June 1999 when he was removed from his post after being implicated in a smuggling scandal centered on the Fujian port of Xiamen...
, major general of military intelligence for the People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
. Ji Shengde is the son of former Secretary General of the State Council
Secretary General of the State Council
Secretary General of the State Council is a executive position within the State Council of the People's Republic of China. It subordinates below the Premier and above the Ministers of various ministries and departments....
Ji Pengfei
Ji Pengfei
Ji Pengfei was a politician in the People's Republic of China.-Biography:Ji Pengfei was born in Linyi, Yuncheng, Shanxi in 1910...
.
Singer Dong Wenhua
Dong Wenhua
Dong Wenhua is a famous Chinese singer from the People's Liberation Army. "Moon of the Fifteenth", "Story of Spring", as well as many other songs of hers were popular to the youth generation of the 80's and the early 90's. China's Ministry of Culture has dedicated an award in her name...
was offered 10 million yuan if she took her clothes off for Lai, who was drunk at the time. She did take off her clothes for the money, and disappeared from public view. She returned to state-run television after 3 years. Others include Li Jizhou (李纪周), deputy minister for public security and Hu Ganlu (许甘露), Immigration secretary. Other corrupt officials include Liu Feng (刘丰), Zhuang Rushun (庄如顺), Lan Fu (蓝甫), Yang Qianxian (杨前线), Shi Zhaobin (石兆彬), Zhao Keming (赵克明). Some of them have already received sentences in the past.
Chinese Premier
Premier of the People's Republic of China
The Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , sometimes also referred to as the "Prime Minister" informally, is the Leader of the State Council of the People's Republic of China , who is the head of government and holds the highest-ranking of the Civil service of the...
Zhu Rongji
Zhu Rongji
Zhū Róngjī is a prominent Chinese politician who served as the Mayor and Party chief in Shanghai between 1987 and 1991, before serving as Vice-Premier and then the fifth Premier of the People's Republic of China from March 1998 to March 2003.A tough administrator, his time in office saw the...
, known for his anti-corruption stands and known for saying Lai needs to be executed many times publicly, actually met Lai twice. In one meeting an offer was made for Lai to pay US$125 million in exchange for amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
. This suggested the entire government knew of Lai's corruption for a long time. Lai also gave money to Zhu Niuniu, son of former deputy commander of China's 31st army from Xiamen. Zhu constantly threatened to expose Lai's smuggling if he did not help him with his financial problem from gambling at the Macau casinos
Gambling in Macau
Gambling in Macau has been legal since the 1850s when the Portuguese government legalized the activity in the colony. Since then, Macau has become known worldwide as the "Monte Carlo of the Orient"....
.
Lai himself was an apprentice to then president Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
. At the height of Lai's corruption in the 1990s, the Fujian party chief was Jia Qinglin
Jia Qinglin
Jia Qinglin is a senior leader of the People's Republic of China. He is the fourth ranking member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Chairman and Party secretary of the National Committee of the People's Political Consultative Conference. Jia's functions as...
.Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping
Xi Jinping is a high ranking politician of the People's Republic of China. He currently serves as the top-ranking member of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China, the country's Vice President, Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission, President of the Central Party School and the...
was the Fujian governor. Xi is scheduled to be the next President of the People's Republic of China
President of the People's Republic of China
The President of the People's Republic of China is a ceremonial office and a part of State organs under the National People's Congress and it is the head of state of the People's Republic of China . The office was created by the 1982 Constitution...
after Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
.
Hong Kong
Lai resided in Fujian province before he moved to Hong Kong in April 1991. While at HK, the Chinese government pursued him. Lai explained to the HK immigration departmentImmigration Department (Hong Kong)
The Immigration Department of the Government of Hong Kong is responsible for immigration control of Hong Kong. After the People's Republic of China assumed sovereignty of the territory in July 1997, Hong Kong's immigration system remained largely unchanged from its British predecessor model...
that he was in HK because he was a friend of Leung Kam-kwong, a HK officer who died in honor
Medal for Bravery (Gold)
For the 3D puzzle game, please see MarbleBlast Gold.The Medal for Bravery is the first rank in the Order of the Medal for Bravery. It is awarded for acts of gallantry of the greatest possible heroism or of the most conspicuous courage in circumstances of extreme danger...
during the 2000 HK immigration center fire. Because of this claimed relationship with the officer, he was hinted of an arrest warrants after him by the immigration department. The department then suggested he move to Canada. The HK government later responded that the claim was totally baseless as the officer was already dead and cannot defend himself.
Canada
Lai fled to Canada with his wife Zeng Mingna (曾明娜) and children in August 1999. He paid US$1 million in cash for a house in South Granville RiseSouth Granville Rise
Established in 1907, South Granville or Uptown is an upscale Business Improvement Area south of Vancouver's downtown core and bordered by the neighbourhoods of Kitsilano, Fairview and Shaughnessy....
Vancouver. His kids went to private schools at a cost of US$4,000 a year and his wife opened a bank account with a deposit of US$1.5 million. They were chauffeur-driven around in a US$90,000 SUV. In 1999 he was detained apparently caught on a 28 day gambling spree at Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
casino
Casino Niagara
Casino Niagara is a commercial casino located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It opened in 1996, on the site of the former Maple Leaf Village amusement park. It was originally an interim casino while the new Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort was constructed. Due to its prime location beside...
. Lai was a regular customer at the casino where at one time bought as much as US$3 million worth of chips. Canadian police noticed him and suspected he was involved in money laundering or loan-sharking.
The family used a HKSAR passport
HKSAR Passport
The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passport is issued to permanent residents of Hong Kong who are citizens of the People's Republic of China...
to emigrate to Canada.
Following heavy pressure from Beijing, Lai's Hong Kong permanent residency
Hong Kong Identity Card
The Hong Kong Identity Card is an official identity document issued by the Immigration Department of Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card is a class of HKID issued to Hong Kong residents who have the right of abode in Hong Kong SAR. According to the Registration of Persons Ordinance...
and HKSAR passport were revoked in 2002 by the Hong Kong Government, saying that he obtained the status dishonestly. Lai divorced his wife in June 2005. In 2009 Lai was granted a working permit and worked at a Vancouver real-estate company as a consultant.
Charges
The Chinese government has refused to drop the charges laid against him, and seeks his extradition. In the same corruption case, one of the largest in modern Chinese history, many high-level municipal and provincial officials were sacked and a few were sentenced to life in prison or death. The complex smuggling case shifted the entire political scene in Fujian by the late 1990s. A special task force operation was created by the government to track down Lai on April 20, 1999, called "4.20" (420专案组) with about 1200 investigators.Lai has denied criminal wrongdoing, and stated that the allegations are politically motivated. Others like Pierre Lemieux
Pierre Lemieux
Pierre Lemieux is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is the MP for the riding of Glengarry—Prescott—Russell in Canada's 39th general election. He represents the Conservative Party of Canada...
defended Lai, saying he is only a criminal because of China's communist economic system and that with a free market, there would be no need for smugglers like Lai. Mainland Chinese
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
websites could write about Lai as long as he was depicted as evil.
Lai's attorney, Winnipeg
Winnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
lawyer David Matas
David Matas
David Matas is the senior legal counsel of B'nai Brith Canada. He has maintained a private practice in refugee, immigration and human rights law since 1979. He has published various books and manuscripts and currently resides in Winnipeg....
, says it is doubtful Lai could ever get a fair trial in China, given the extent of communist party influence in the opaque judicial system. Matas has filed for an assessment of whether Lai's family are at risk if they are returned to China. As long as immigration officials are considering this request, he says, they may not be removed from Canada.
Nevertheless, Lai has repeatedly been denied political refugee status in Canada, most recently in September 2005 by the Supreme Court in Ottawa
Ottawa
Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...
. This seconded the Federal Court of Appeal
Federal Court of Appeal (Canada)
The Federal Court of Appeal is a Canadian appellate court that hears cases concerning federal matters arising from certain federal Acts. The court was created on July 2, 2003 by the Courts Administration Service Act when it and the Federal Court were split from its predecessor, the Federal Court of...
, which in April had refused to hear Lai's appeal of the June 2002 Refugee Board decision, on the grounds that Lai and his wife failed to meet the standards to be designated as refugees.
Canada does not have the death penalty and is prohibited from deporting accused criminals to countries where they will face capital punishment. China claimed that he would not be executed if extradited from Canada. Canadian courts did not believe this guarantee, due to certain CPC bias in any trial and as 14 others involved in the complex Xiamen racket have already been executed. Svend Robinson
Svend Robinson
Svend Robinson is a former Canadian politician. He was a Member of Parliament in the Canadian House of Commons from 1979 to 2004, representing the suburban Vancouver-area constituency of Burnaby for the New Democratic Party...
, then New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
member of parliament for Burnaby-Douglas, also noted that Lai's brother died in a Fujian labour-camp after receiving a lesser sentence. The likelihood of a de facto death sentence remains an obstacle to his deportation.
On February 3, 2009, the Canadian Government granted Lai a work permit. Canadian officials have acknowledged that Lai does not have access to the vast fortune they thought he had upon arrival in Canada back in 1999. Lai has said his legal and living expenses are being funded by friends, whom he has declined to identify, saying they could be in danger if the Chinese government knew their names. Though the Canadian government allowed him to swap their detention cell for a luxury apartment in Burnaby Vancouver.
On July 8, 2011, John Baird
John Baird (Canadian politician)
John Russell Baird, PC, MP is a Canadian politician currently serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Stephen Harper....
, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada
Minister of Foreign Affairs (Canada)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is the Minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the federal government's international relations section of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada....
, said that, the extradition of Lai must accord to the program of Canadian Laws independently. In early time, Lai's Refugee Application was refused, with the possibility of extradition to China.
Jiang Zemin death rumor and disappearance
On July 6 Hong Kong media carried headlines that Jiang ZeminJiang Zemin
Jiang Zemin is a former Chinese politician, who served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of China from 1989 to 2002, as President of the People's Republic of China from 1993 to 2003, and as Chairman of the Central Military Commission from 1989 to 2005...
was "critically ill". That evening, TV station ATV
Asia Television Limited
Asia Television Limited is one of the two free-to-air television broadcasters in Hong Kong, the other being rival Television Broadcasts Limited . It launched in 1957 under the name Rediffusion Television as the first television station in Hong Kong...
reported on its evening news bulletin that Jiang had died in Beijing. Xinhua news agency
Xinhua News Agency
The Xinhua News Agency is the official press agency of the government of the People's Republic of China and the biggest center for collecting information and press conferences in the PRC. It is the largest news agency in the PRC, ahead of the China News Service...
, quoting “authoritative sources”, declared that overseas media reports of Jiang's death were "pure rumour".
Dissident website Boxun.com
Boxun.com
Boxun.com is an overseas Chinese community website created by Meicun "Watson" Meng, who studied in the United States after working for two multinational companies in China. Boxun covers international political news and human rights abuses in the People's Republic of China, among other topics...
had reported on July 6, 2011, a source as saying: "Former leader Jiang died at midnight at Beijing 301 Hospital." At approximately 3 pm, it issued a correction: "We reported that Jiang was in critical condition or died based on several sources, but a figure in Beijing called us at noon to inform us that his condition has improved."
The disappearance of Jiang was later tied to the public re-appearance of Lai Changxing. Lai have said publicly in the past that if he returned to China:
His corruption is known to have reached the top levels of the Chinese government. In 2001 Jiang Zemin even sent a letter to Canadian prime minister
Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...
Jean Chrétien
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien , known commonly as Jean Chrétien is a former Canadian politician who was the 20th Prime Minister of Canada. He served in the position for over ten years, from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003....
that if Lai returned to China, he will be executed. In relation to the case, 14 people have already been executed, about 300 provincial officials have already been put on trial. Since 2002 Beijing sent secret police to follow him wherever he went.
Return to China
On July 22, 2011, Lai Changxing was officially extradited to China. He was escorted to Vancouver International AirportVancouver International Airport
Vancouver International Airport is located on Sea Island in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, about from Downtown Vancouver. In 2010 it was the second busiest airport in Canada by aircraft movements and passengers , behind Toronto Pearson International Airport, with non-stop flights daily to...
and boarded Air Canada
Air Canada
Air Canada is the flag carrier and largest airline of Canada. The airline, founded in 1936, provides scheduled and charter air transport for passengers and cargo to 178 destinations worldwide. It is the world's tenth largest passenger airline by number of destinations, and the airline is a...
flight 29 for Beijing. He was officially handed over to the Chinese Police on July 23, 2011, and signed an arrest warrant
Arrest warrant
An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by and on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual.-Canada:Arrest warrants are issued by a judge or justice of the peace under the Criminal Code of Canada....
issued for his arrest upon his arrival in Beijing. This event could remove a significant obstacle in Sino-Canadian relations, as Canadian minister of foreign affairs John Baird is adopting a proactive approach, promoting stronger ties between both nations. Spokesman of the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China is an executive agency responsible for foreign relations between the People's Republic of China and other countries in the world. The agency is led by the Foreign Minister. The current minister is Yang Jiechi...
has expressed satisfaction concerning this decision, referring to Lai as responsible for the "biggest economical crime in the history of the People's Republic of China."
Further reading
The only book in a Western language published on the Lai Changxing affair is by the former Beijing Bureau chief of The Times newspaper, Oliver AugustOliver August
Oliver August is a correspondent and editor for The Economist. He is currently focusing on Africa and the Middle East. Previously, he has been based in New York, Beijing, Singapore, Damascus, Beirut and Baghdad....
.
- A short film about the making of the book Inside the Red Mansion by Oliver August.