death sentence remained an obstacle to his deportation. On February 3, 2009, the Canadian Government granted Lai a work permit. Canadian officials acknowledged that Lai did not have access to the vast fortune they thought he had upon arrival in Canada back in 1999. Lai has said his legal and living expenses were being funded by friends, whom he has declined to identify, saying they could be in danger if the Chinese government knew their names. On July 8, 2011, John Baird, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, said that, the extradition of Lai must be conducted using Canadian laws. In early stages, Lai's Refugee Application was refused, with the possibility of extradition to China. Extradition Lai's corruption is known to have reached the top levels of the Chinese government. He has publicly declared in the past that if he returned to China: "many high government officials will not be able to sleep. Incidents will happen." In relation to the case, 14 people have already been executed, about 300 provincial officials have already been put on trial. Since 2002 Beijing sent MSS agents to follow him wherever he went. On July 22, 2011, Lai Changxing was extradited to China. He was escorted to Vancouver International Airport and boarded Air Canada flight 29 (AC 29) bound for Beijing. He was later transferred to Chinese custody on July 23, 2011, and signed an arrest warrant issued for his arrest upon his arrival in Beijing. Spokesman of the Chinese ministry of foreign affairs has expressed satisfaction concerning this decision, referring to Lai as responsible for the "biggest economic crime in the history of the People's Republic of China." Sentence On May 18, 2012, Lai Changxing was sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of smuggling and bribery by the Intermediate People's Court in Xiamen. In addition, all of his property was confiscated. References External links A short film about the making of the book Inside the Red Mansion by Oliver August. 1958 births Living people Applicants for refugee status in Canada Businesspeople from Fujian Chinese white-collar criminals Chinese refugees People from Jinjiang, Fujian Chinese prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the People's Republic of China People extradited from Canada People extradited to China Chinese smugglers Chinese football chairmen and investors