(Ecns.cn)--For over a decade Lai Changxing, one of China's most wanted fugitives, fought in Canadian court to postpone deportation back to China, where he had allegedly headed a multibillion-dollar smuggling enterprise in Xiamen, Fujian Province.
The battle finally came to an end with a verdict made on July 22 leading to Lai's deportation. Lai arrived in Beijing the next day and was arrested at the airport.
China's commitments
It has been a very long diplomatic tug-of-war between the two countries, in which 53-year-old Lai tried every legal avenue to stay in Canada and avoid charges in his home country.
Ever since Lai was nabbed at a Canadian casino in 2000 he argued that if he were sent back to China he would possibly suffer from torture and execution.
His lawyer, David Matas, cited that 15 people had already been given death sentences in connection with the case, and "eight or nine" had been executed, according to Time Magazine.
As a country that does not have the death penalty, Canada is prohibited from deporting accused criminals to countries where they might face capital punishment.
However, the "strict, clear and unequivocal assurances" from the Chinese government that "if Mr Lai is returned to China he will most likely be convicted of bribery and smuggling" finally strengthened the judge's resolve to repatriate Lai to China.
Assured, Federal Court Judge Michel Shore finally ruled that the Canadian government had been convinced that Lai would be treated fairly.
"Mr. Lai is a common criminal fugitive from the Chinese justice system who has had full access to Canada's immigration processes over the last eleven years and has been found not to be at risk if removed to China on the basis of extraordinary assurances received and held as valid," said Shore in his ruling.
"The wording 'extraordinary assurances' is quite interesting," said Yang Cheng, lecturer of international law at the University of Saint Joseph Macau, adding that China, besides not sentencing Lai to death, had also made new promises to the court early this March that Canadian officials would be allowed to attend Lai's court hearings in China and periodically visit him in prison to make sure he is being treated fairly.
Top lawyer at wit's end
Undoubtedly, Matas played an important role in securing Lai's escape for such a long period.
The so-called "ever victorious" attorney has also helped several other "most-wanted" men to take refuge in Canada for decades.
Yang Cheng once worked with Matas in court, saying that the attorney, though professional, tends to politicalize some legal issues.
According to Yang, Lai's failure this year had a lot to do with his lawyer's court performance.
"His arguments were the same as four years ago. Nothing was new. The respondents had been well prepared this time, but Matas could not provide new evidence to back up the risks Lai might take by returning to China," Yang explained.
Matas was absent from the first hearing on July 11 because he was away on business. He attended the second hearing on July 21 via telephone from Berlin, Germany.
However, when asked what else he wanted to do to defend Lai after Shore's decision, Matas just answered "No."
