The Global and Mail
VANCOUVER -- An immigration hearing into whether fugitive banker Gao Shan should be sent back to face criminal charges in China was abruptly adjourned yesterday after his lawyer argued the Canadian government was abusing the process in order to do the bidding of Chinese officials.
Canada is trying to circumvent extradition law by removing the former banker for a minor offence, said Lorne Waldman, who is representing Mr. Gao.
Citizenship and Immigration officials say Mr. Gao, who is a permanent resident, lied on his form to enter Canada and should be removed. But before evidence could be brought forward by minister's counsel Alannah Hatch, who represents the government on those charges, Mr. Waldman applied to adjourn the proceedings.
China issued a warrant for Mr. Gao, a former Bank of China manager, in January, 2005. He is one of 24 suspects in the embezzlement of about $136-million.
Mr. Gao's arrest Feb. 16 was followed a week later in Vancouver by the arrest of two other men, Li Dongzhe and Li Donghu, who were also allegedly involved.
"The minister submits this was not an abuse of process," Ms. Hatch said at the hearing before immigration adjudicator Otto Nupponen.
The hearing was adjourned until March 21 so Mr. Waldman can present his argument that Mr. Gao, 41, and his family are being improperly charged. Other people have made more serious misrepresentations on their application forms and the government has not attempted to remove them, said to Mr. Waldman.
The misrepresentation alleged on Mr. Gao's application was that he failed to mention that he worked for the Bank of China. At the time, Mr. Gao also worked for two other companies, which he had listed.
The Canadian government is using the misrepresentation charge to disguise its intention to extradite Mr. Gao back to China, Mr. Waldman argued yesterday.
China and Canada do not have an extradition treaty and the issue has become an increasingly sensitive one between the two countries. China has accused Canada of being a haven for fugitives.
In the most famous case, Lai Changxing, who is alleged to be a smuggling kingpin, has been living in Vancouver since 2000. China's most-wanted fugitive continues to fight his removal orders after being turned down as a refugee in 2002.
Outside the hearing, Mr. Waldman said his argument about the legitimacy of China's legal system has nothing to do with Canada's image.
"Until China can create a legal process that is respected, any country like Canada and any lawyer like me is going to do exactly what I'm doing," Mr. Waldman said. "You can't send people back to a judicial system like China."
Mr. Waldman said evidence provided by China is unreliable.
The disclosure documents provided by Canadian and Chinese authorities for the immigration proceedings indicate that Mr. Gao's arrest by Canadian Border Services Agency officers was done at the request of China, Mr. Waldman said.
"There are certain things that lead me to believe that all of this was initiated by the government of China," the lawyer said. "It's quite clear there have been extensive communication between the Chinese authorities, the RCMP and Canadian immigration authorities."
Professor Wenran Jiang, director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta, said Mr. Waldman's questions about the legitimacy of the Chinese judicial system fail to take into account the reforms the country is undergoing.
"China is in transition. China has its problems but it is trying to implement changes," he said yesterday.
"If we refuse to acknowledge certain parts of the Chinese system we can work with, then anyone can come to Canada with embezzlement and corruption charges and turn around and say, 'I can't be sent back because there are no fair trials in China' ."