China's alleged smuggling mastermind, Lai Changxing,...

China's alleged smuggling mastermind, Lai Changxing, will not have to stay in jail as he keeps up his fight to remain in Canada as a political refugee. An order placing China's most wanted fugitive under a form of house arrest came despite objections by Canadian immigration officials fearing Lai will flee, in part because Canada is now considering its own criminal charges against him.
Immigration adjudicator Daphine Shaw Dyck said that while she was concerned by claims Lai had attempted to get a false passport after his arrest in Canada, the charge was not enough to keep him in custody because police had refused to supply evidence to support their allegations. China has accused Lai of running a smuggling ring that brought billions of dollars of goods into that country in the mid-1990s and bribed dozens of government officials to avoid paying taxes and duties.
Lai, who fled to Canada with his family in 1999, has denied criminal wrong-doing. He argues he is the victim of political infighting between factions in China's state security system and will be killed if returned home.
Canadian immigration officials have joined China in fighting Lai's refugee bid by arguing he is trying to avoid criminal prosecution. Ottawa also won a pledge from Beijing that Lai will not face execution if convicted.
Lai and his wife, Tsang Mingna, have been jailed several times since their arrest in November 2000.
Their most recent arrest came last week after an immigration panel rejected their refugee claim - a ruling that Lai is attempting to appeal through the courts.
Dyck said Lai had abided by the previous orders freeing him from jail, although Friday's order included a new condition that he not associate with members of two Chinese-led international criminal gangs: the Big Circle Boys and the Kung Lok triad.