Who would have imagined that a semi-literate farmer from rural Fujian who did not even finish primary school would become the head of a smuggling empire that ended the careers of dozens of officials, China's most infamous fugitive and one of its biggest diplomatic nuisances?
Lai Changxing, 53, was jailed for life by a court in his home province yesterday for running a multibillion-dollar smuggling ring. Extradited from Canada last year after 12 years in exile, he was accused of masterminding a US$10 billion network that smuggled an array of goods, ranging from cigarettes to cars and oil, and of bribing government officials and politicians.
Despite the smuggling kingpin's conviction in Xiamen, the port city where his business was headquartered, it remains unproven, despite Lai's repeated claims over the years, that the families of some of the country's most senior leaders were involved in the mainland's biggest corruption scandal of modern times.
Born into a poor family, Lai farmed at home until the age of 18 and afterwards worked briefly as a well digger and an apprentice blacksmith. Smart, sociable and enterprising, however, he was not content to remain a blue-collar worker.
When he was 21, with savings and loans from family members amounting to about 1,500 yuan, he ventured into the car parts business. He proved to be a capable businessman, expanding into textile machinery manufacturing and later opening a garment factory, a print shop and an umbrella factory.
His achievements brought him into contact with powerful Communist Party figures, relationships that helped his businesses grow, and by 1991 he had accumulated tens of millions of yuan. He then acquired a fake identity and moved to Hong Kong, where he made a fortune in the property boom.