BEIJING, Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Lai Changxing, alleged head of a billion-dollar smuggling racket in southeast China, is unlikely to be extradited from Canada, state media said Tuesday.
Difficulties in gathering evidence, different legal systems and conflicting concepts of human rights, especially concerning the death penalty, make agreement between China and Canada unlikely, according to Vincent Yang, a Vancouver-based legal expert. Yang, in Beijing for a legal conference, was quoted in an article released Tuesday by Xinhua.
Lai, accused by Chinese authorities of working with corrupt officials to smuggle goods worth $10 billion, applied for asylum after escaping to Canada in 1999. He has remained under house arrest while authorities investigate his case.
Xinhua described Canada as a favorite destination for China's fugitive corrupt officials. The two countries signed a Treaty on Judicial Assistance in Criminal Cases in 1994, but stopped short of a full extradition treaty.
Yang suggested that, to facilitate the prosecution of fugitive officials, China should enter into agreements with Western countries to split any money recovered.
