Chinese President Jiang Zemin asked Canada to extradite...

Chinese President Jiang Zemin asked Canada to extradite China's most wanted fugitive, the alleged smuggling kingpin Lai Changxing, promising he will not be executed if returned.
Jiang made the request in a 20-minute meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien on the sidelines of the just-ended Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) forum on October 20 the Globe and Mail reported.
Jiang gave his "strong personal commitment" that Lai would not, if convicted, face the death penalty if Canada rejected his refugee claim and sent him back for trial, the Canadian newspaper quoted Canadian officials as saying.
Lai is under house arrest in Vancouver while waiting for a court ruling on his application for refugee status. He has claimed refugee status for himself and his family, saying Beijing's charges are politically motivated and that he may be executed if he is sent back. He is accused of masterminding a massive corruption and smuggling ring in China operating through his Xiamen-based Yuanhua group.
Canada has shied away from deporting people to face the death penalty, The Globe and Mail says.
"President Jiang gave the prime minister his personal commitment that Mr Lai would not receive the death penalty," a Canadian official said.
Many of Lai's alleged accomplices have been sentenced to death in China.
On October 22 Li Jizhou became the highest-ranking official to be condemned in the mainland's largest smuggling scandal allegedly masterminded by Lai.
Including Li, 273 party and government officials, police chiefs and business executives in state-run companies have been convicted for corruption and sentenced in relation to the Yuanhua smuggling case. Most of the convicted were local officials in Xiamen city or Fujian province.
More than 12 were sentenced to death, including former deputy Fujian police chief Zhuang Rushun and Xiamen mayor Lan Fu in 2000.