CHINA WELCOMES CANADIAN COURT'S RULING ON DEPORTATION OF CHINESE FUGITIVE

By Ng Che Yean
BEIJING, July 22 (Bernama) -- China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Thursday welcomed the Canadian Federal Court's decision to uphold the deportation of Lai Changxing, 53, one of China's most wanted fugitives.

Lai is the prime suspect in a smuggling case in the city of Xiamen, Fujian Province, and had been sought by law enforcement for many years, said Ma Zhaoxu, the spokesman of the ministry, in an online statement.

"The stand of the Chinese government is very clear, that Lai should be deported to China and put on trial," Ma said.

Lai is the alleged mastermind of one of the largest smuggling and corruption scandals in contemporary Chinese history, which had changed the political scenario in Fujian Province in the late 1990s.

The multi-billion-dollar smuggling and corruption scandal caused many senior municipal and provincial officials involved to be sacked and a few sentenced to life in prison or death.

Lai fled to Canada with his family in 1999, but he had denied criminal wrongdoing and stated that the allegations were politically motivated.

China authorities had demanded his extradition several times, but Canadian authorities rejected the request, claiming that Lai could face risks, such as torture, if sent back to China.

However, after several years of assessment, the Canadian immigration recently determined that Lai was not at risk of being tortured in China.

Recently, Lai was arrested by Canadian police to stop him from fleeing before the deportation.

The Canadian Federal Court decided Thursday to send Lai back to China to answer criminal charges.