Related events on high mountains

On June 30th, 2004, my colleague sent the President of Harbin Song He Street Sub-branch of Bank of China Heilongjiang Branch to Harbin Taiping International Airport.

Before leaving, Gaoshan had made almost all the preparations: he called the branch and asked if there was anything urgent before the New Year holiday and if there were enough people; I also asked for leave from Daoli Sub-branch of Heilongjiang Branch of China Bank at a higher level, saying that I was going to see a doctor in Beijing, and the result was approved.

However, Gaoshan did not go south to Beijing, but flew east to Canada. On February 30th, local time 10, I entered Vancouver. On the same day, his good friends and co-defendants Li and Li Donghu also fled from Harbin, and their final destination was Vancouver.

Five days later, on June 4th, 2005, 65438+, the first working day after the New Year holiday, a huge customer deposit case broke out in Song He Street Sub-branch. The first company to find the missing money was Northeast Expressway Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as Northeast Expressway). The company's deposit account in Song He Street is 293.3 million yuan, showing that there is only 73 10000 yuan left, and the total amount of all missing money exceeds 654,380+0,000,000 yuan, making it the largest financial case in 2005. Escape from the mountain without using false names and documents to enter the country. The husband and wife still hold China passports, and their English names are simple Chinese pinyin "Gaoshan" and "Li Xue".

Gaoshan kept his usual caution in Vancouver. After a year in Canada, he didn't live with his wife and daughter. He lives in seclusion, with no property, no job, no income and no savings. The whole family uses a mailbox, and the only car in the family is the blue Mazda. He goes to Lutheran church occasionally; He has no external contact except studying English in a community school. When filling in the question "What kind of career do you plan to pursue in the future" at school, Gao Shan wrote "Be an interpreter".

This is not the character of Gaoshan. Before fleeing, Gaoshan was ambitious, made friends with three religions and nine streams, and was good at pleasing both sides. If it hadn't happened in a car accident in June, 5438+October, 2006/KLOC-0, Gaoshan probably wouldn't have returned to public view so soon. A blue Mazda car driven by China collided with another car. The police who arrived at the scene found that the man was not the owner himself, so they asked him to provide personal information, including his name and home address. This man is a high mountain.

This is the first time that he reported his real address to the authorities. After Gao Shan fled to Canada, his first official contact with government agencies was recorded, which began with this car accident.

On June 5438+1October 65438+February, 2007, accompanied by Harbin police, several Canadian policemen met with Zhang, the former chairman of Northeast Expressway, at the detention center to verify whether some documents of Jie Sub-branch were forged. According to the Canadian police, the Ministry of Public Security of China listed the list of economic criminals who applied for repatriation to Canada, and Gao Shan ranked fifth.

On February 16, the Canadian Border Agency and the Royal Mounted Police detained Mr. and Mrs. Gao Shan for four reasons: Gao Shan's immigration application form was untrue; Suspected of holding assets obtained from crime; China is wanted by China for suspected cases, and Canada is suspected of money laundering. On June 4th, 2005, 65438' s deposit of 700 million yuan in China Bank Harbin Songjiang Branch Northeast Expressway Co., Ltd. and other units disappeared. At this time, the president of the branch, Gao Shan, has quietly arrived in Canada. In the past two years, this case has gradually surfaced. More than 20 people, from senior officials to pawns, have been implicated, but the main culprit, Gao Shan, is still at large.

According to Melissa Anderson, a spokeswoman for Canada Border Services Agency and Immigration Bureau, the exact date of Gao Shan's last visit to Canada was 65438+February 30, 2004. As early as 2002, his wife Sydney was granted permanent resident status in Canada. Gao Shan had been to Canada 18 times before he officially immigrated to Canada.

Gao Shan's wife holds a master's degree in psychology from the University of Edinburgh, which enabled her to get high marks when applying for immigration. The whole Gaoshan family obtained Canadian citizenship through skilled migration. After the incident, why did Gao Shan choose Vancouver, a small Canadian city, among many cities?

Canada has a vast territory and a small population, and its immigration policy is relatively loose. As long as dual citizenship is recognized, as long as Canadian permanent resident status is obtained, it will be protected by the government and laws, and repatriation is difficult. In addition, China and Canada have not signed an extradition agreement, which makes extradition more time-consuming.

O 'Gensky told reporters that the crime rate in North Vancouver is extremely low. The main problems of local public security are drug trafficking and shooting; Residents like Gaoshan are usually low-key and do not directly threaten local security, so it is difficult for the police to notice. The discovery of corrupt officials from other places from the local area is the first case in Mr. Gensky's impression. "Choosing this place as a hiding place shows that he is really smart."

After Gao Shan came to Canada, he never bought a house or a car in his own name, and he didn't even have to pay utilities and mortgage in his own name. In the past two years, the whole family has only contacted the outside world by renting the mailbox of the post office, and the mountain has almost "vanished". According to a white old lady who lives next door to Gaoshan's house, the hostess of Gaoshan's house speaks fluent and authentic English, but the male head of the house lives in seclusion and rarely communicates with his neighbors. The community regularly holds some group activities, but he has never been seen to participate. Only the staff of a nearby Christian church said that he had seen a high mountain and that this man seemed to come to worship.

After his arrest, Gao Shan repeatedly stressed that he was living in poverty, and the whole family depended on his wife's income. Sydney works in a children's center called "Road to Life", with an annual salary of more than 30,000 Canadian dollars (1 Canadian dollars is about 6.5 yuan RMB); Mr. Fowles, who is studying in Alpine School, revealed that the fees for immigrant English courses in Vancouver range from 600 Canadian dollars to several thousand Canadian dollars. Gaoshan's mortgage costs more than 3,000 Canadian dollars per month; Coupled with the daughter's tuition, it is doubtful how the family finances can make ends meet.

It is reported that Sydney bought a house worth about 500,000 Canadian dollars shortly after entering Canada in 2002, and then bought a house worth more than 300,000 Canadian dollars in North Vancouver. After Gaoshan was arrested, the police found a total of about 50 thousand Canadian dollars in cash in a safe registered in the name of Sydney in Imperial Commercial Bank of Canada. Neither effort nor anonymity allowed Gao Shan to escape justice.

On February 30, 2004, 65438, he entered Canada without a false certificate. On the entry record of the Canadian Border Service Agency, the pinyin of the couple's names is clearly stated: "Gaoshan" and "Li Xue". China police only need to consult the entry databases of various countries, and sooner or later they will get important information hidden in Canada.

On February 6, 2007, Gao Shan was arrested at his home in North Vancouver by officials of the Canadian Border Service Agency and the Royal Mounted Police, and was accused of filling in his occupation in the immigration application form.

Judge Teyssler of the Canadian Immigration Service explained that Gao Shan was involved in a car accident in the summer of 2006. A blue Mazda car collided with another car. The owner is not Gaoshan, but according to the address provided by the driver, Gaoshan entered the police's field of vision.

But in fact, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and other data show that Gao Shan was under the surveillance of the Canadian police as early as more than a year ago.

Why is Canada unwilling to admit the early monitoring of mountains?

"China's surveillance is probably due to the notice of the Canadian government. If we admit this, it means that the arrest has been under some pressure from China." Yang Cheng, a senior consultant of the United Nations International Criminal Law Reform Center and a professor at the Law School of Macau University of Science and Technology, analyzed.

A related person who asked not to be named revealed that the China police had informed Canada of the major suspicion of Gaoshan absconding with a huge sum of money, but the Canadian side believed that the evidence was insufficient. "In fact, due to various factors, many western countries do not trust China's judicial system and have misunderstandings in many aspects." Jia Qingguo, a professor at Peking University Institute of International Relations, analyzed.

After being arrested, Gaoshan also said that he did not want to be sent back to China. The reason is that the judicial system in China is not transparent enough.

According to the judicial personage in Heilongjiang, on June 5438+1October 65438+February, 2007, accompanied by Harbin police, several Canadian policemen went to a detention center in Baicheng. Zhang, the former boss of Northeast Expressway Co., Ltd., admitted that the bank documents given to him by Gaoshan were forged, which was equivalent to voluntarily providing Gaoshan.

On June 5438+ 10, 2007, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the Beijing Office of Interpol formally proposed to the Canadian government to send Gao Shan back to China for trial. "That's just a form. The communication between the China police and us on this case has begun. " Canadian police revealed. After the first hearing after his arrest, Gao Shan and his wife hugged each other tightly, and there was still a smile on their lips. When attending the hearing of the Immigration Bureau, Sydney revealed that Gao Shan had a bad temper recently and often quarreled with himself because of trivial matters.

American media reported that Gaoshan had been under police surveillance for more than a year. Cars are always parked at the door, and people follow them when they go out. Police officers monitoring Gaoshan once revealed that one day in February, Gaoshan went to the railway station with a travel bag to prepare for Ottawa. He lingered on the platform for a long time and finally turned to go home. Two days later, Canadian immigration officials and the Royal Mounted Police appeared at his door and asked him to "assist in the investigation". At that moment, Gaoshan's expression was not unexpected, and he seemed to have been psychologically prepared.

On February 18, the immigration bureau heard the magistrate's court. 18 The public gallery was full, even the door was full of reporters. Sheriff Teyssler was the sheriff who conditionally released Lai Changxing. Sydney, 4 1 year-old, put her hands together for a long time before the trial, as if praying secretly; At the hearing, Sydney massaged her face from time to time.

In the residential area of North Vancouver,No. Xipeng Street111is an inconspicuous two-story building. Outside the wall, there are often policemen and media reporters wandering around and watching. Inside the wall, there is a family of three in the mountains.

When Gao Shan was arrested, his wife and daughter were also arrested and then released. Gaoshan gave her daughter a unique name: Gaoshan Xuelian. According to Gao Shan's friend, this is to hope that her daughter will be pure in the future.

After Gao Shan was arrested, a reporter went to visit Sydney and Gao Shan Xuelian, but was politely refused. In the next few days, reporters still flocked in and took pictures through the window. A few days later, all the windows were hung with white curtains.

The day Gaoshan was arrested was close to the China Lunar New Year, and he was detained on the 29th, 30th and 1st day of the twelfth lunar month? The police don't allow anyone to visit.

After Gaoshan was arrested, on February 23, two other masterminds, Li and Li Donghu, who fled to Canada with Gaoshan, were also arrested by the Canadian police. Yang Cheng pointed out that they have no permanent resident status. If their accounts are suspected of being illegally frozen, the two brothers will have no money to go to court and will probably be repatriated before Gaoshan. If they confess after returning home, it will make the criminal evidence of Gaoshan more conclusive. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also has evidence that the two have frequent financial contacts with Gaoshanjia, Canada.

Also on this day, the sheriff of the Immigration Bureau once agreed to release Gao Shan, but demanded a bail of about 300,000 Canadian dollars, but then changed his mind and refused bail. Immigration spokesman Ferguson explained that the reason for refusing bail was that it was suspected that the 300,000 Canadian dollars used for bail in Gaoshan belonged to criminal money.

Gao Shan wants to stay in Canada on the grounds that he may be treated unfairly after returning home, but the Canadian government obviously does not agree with these "reasons".

Zhang Chaofeng, press officer of the Canadian Embassy in China, said that the Canadian government is committed to protecting the rights and interests of its citizens and hopes that more outstanding foreign citizens will immigrate to Canada. However, Canada is by no means a refuge for criminals. Once it is determined that a crime has been committed in a foreign country before immigration, the suspect will be repatriated according to judicial procedures. After careful preparation years ago, I obtained the qualification of permanent resident. Can such "foresight" make Gao Shan's gamble more "winning"?

"The mountain and Lai Changxing's situation is different. Lai Changxing entered the country in a hurry as a "tourist" and could only apply for political asylum. And Gaoshan has immigrated to Canada, and what he needs to face is questioning his permanent resident qualification. " Yang Cheng pointed out.

According to experts, after Canada's Permanent Resident Bureau cancels the qualification of alpine immigrants and issues a repatriation order, it still needs to conduct a repatriation risk assessment to judge whether Gaoshan will face inhuman treatment or even death penalty after returning to China. This risk assessment will take one month at the earliest, and it may take several months to recover. Even if the risk assessment result is unfavorable to Gao Shan, he can still apply to the Canadian federal court for judicial review of the risk assessment procedure within one month, and the court will temporarily refuse to repatriate to Gao Shan during the review process. The court can delay for several months at the longest from acceptance to trial, while the federal court may also need several months from trial to judgment. All kinds of things that can be delayed add up to several years at the longest and half a year at the shortest.

On the Gao Shan issue, even though the Canadian government tends to repatriate Gao Shan quickly for the sake of Sino-Canadian relations, the court accepted Gao Shan's request for judicial review and entered the judicial process, which was decided by the federal court. "Canada is a country with an independent judiciary. Once in the judicial process, even if you want to cooperate with China, you can't interfere with the judiciary. " Yang Cheng has been engaged in legal work in Canada for a long time and has a deep understanding of judicial independence.

"If Gao Shan or Lai Changxing were British or American, the repatriation work would be much smoother." Yang Cheng pointed out that the judicial systems of these countries are similar to those of Canada, while those of China and Canada are different. In addition, foreign media mostly report bad news about China's justice, so foreign judges may have doubts about China's judicial justice. Therefore, Canadian judges' personal views on China's justice will play an important role.

In addition, Canadian law stipulates that there is no time limit for such judicial reconsideration. As long as Gaoshan has money and can afford a lawyer, he can delay the time as much as possible through the "judicial marathon". However, if Gao Shan's money is not in Canada, the transfer from overseas is "controlled" and "cash-strapped", which means that he will return to China to face trial.

In recent years, China's economy has developed continuously and its international influence has risen rapidly. Will the increase in cooperation with Canada in the field of trade affect the judgment of Canadian judges? Yang Cheng analyzed, "The professionalism of Canadian judges requires them to consider only judicial factors and not politics. In reality, even if they consider Canada's national interests and their judgment is affected, they will not say it. "

Zhang Chaofeng, press officer of the Canadian Embassy in China, told reporters that the official attitude of the Canadian government towards the Alpine incident is: "The Canadian government's goal of fighting crime is the same as that of China, and Canada is willing to reach a compromise with the China government under the guidance of this same goal."

According to the Canadian police, Gao Shan ranks only fifth in the list handed over by China to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Canadian police refused to disclose who the "Shuo" in front was. With the long-term efforts of China's public security organs, Gaoshan, a major economic criminal suspect who fled Canada for nearly 8 years, recently returned from Canada and surrendered himself.

After eight years of absconding, Gaoshan returned to China and surrendered himself. Before in Canada, when asked by the media about his mood these days, Takayama said politely, although he didn't want to respond positively, "I'm sorry, there's really nothing to say." I just came out (from the detention center) and don't want to talk about feeling these things. " Although he repeatedly stressed that there was nothing to say, Gao Shan smiled and said, "I want to live a normal life." Harbin Intermediate People's Court held a public hearing in Harbin on the morning of 20 13 10 to hear the case of bill fraud, misappropriation of public funds, contract fraud, extortion, bribery, unit bribery, drug trafficking and hosts of others. The trial will end on1October 30th 10.

Announce a verdict

20 14, 12 On September 2nd, the "Gaoshan case" was pronounced in Harbin Intermediate People's Court, and the defendant Gaoshan was convicted of embezzlement of public funds and sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of 15 years.