A senior CPC official said Tuesday that the allegation Lai
Changxing will be sentenced to death and subjected to abuse after
repatriation is groundless.
Gan Yisheng, vice secretary of the Central Commission for
Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China (CPC) said at
a press conference that "China is a big and
responsible country who honors its words."
Gan raised an example, saying that since Lai's case was
uncovered, more than 30 criminal suspects involved in the case have
turned themselves in the judicial organs, most of them coming
back from abroad. The judicial organs live up to their words to
handle their cases with leniency by applying to laws and
regulations.
Lai is the fugitive suspect wanted by the International Criminal
Police Organization. Recently, Canada's federal court held a
hearing on the risks evaluation of Lai's repatriation.
Local media said Lai's lawyer suspected on two points -- one is
that the promise made by China's judicial organ did not explicitly
said Lai won't be sentenced to death with reprieve, which might end
up with execution. Another is that Lai might be subjected to abuse
after repatriation.
Gan said according to China's Criminal Law, there are two types
of death sentence -- death sentence with immediate execution and
death sentence with reprieve.
China has promised not to sentence Lai Changxing to death. It
means he won't be given death penalty with immediate execution nor
death penalty with reprieve, said Gan.
Gan said Lai has stayed in Canada for over seven years. He did
not get what he wanted, nor will he get in future. He has lost
something he did not want to lose and will lose even more in
future.
There is an old Chinese saying: the ocean of suffering is
endless, but when you look back, you will see the bank. "We advise
Lai not to keep stubborn but come back to confess his crimes as
early as possible. China's door remains open for him," said
Gan.
At the press conference, Gan also declared that China had
punished 97,260 members of Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2006,
amid a continuous campaign to fight graft and build a "clean"
Party.
Among the CPC members punished, 3,530 had been handed over to
prosecutors, including seven officials at or above the governor and
minister level, said Gan.
(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2007)
