China - Ex-Fugitive Goes on Trial - NYTimes.com A man who battled deportation from Canada for a decade after being accused of running China's largest-ever smuggling ring went on trial on Friday. The man, Lai Changxing, is accused of masterminding a $10 billion network that smuggled everything from cigarettes to cars to oil and bribed dozens of government workers from 1996 to 1999. The operation, based in Xiamen, is said to have robbed the government of millions of dollars in unpaid taxes. Mr. Lai, who fled China in 1999, was deported by Canada in July. More than 300 people have been punished for their involvement in Mr. Lai's deals, according to Xinhua, the state-run news agency.