The death penalty in China

5 October 2007, 03:05PM

©AFP

China executes more of its own citizens than all other nations in the world combined. There are 68 crimes in China punishable by death. Many of these "most serious" crimes are non-violent and white-collar such as fraud, bribery, embezzlement, arson and prostitution.

Until Chinese authorities reveal the full national death penalty statistics for the periods before and after the review was introduced, it will be impossible to make an objective assessment of what effect the reforms have had. Transparency will lead to human rights being upheld in China.

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How many people are executed in China?

True statistics on how many executions are carried out each year in China are considered by the Chinese Government to be a "state secret".

For the 12 months of 2006 the government reported that 1,010 people were executed. However Amnesty International has credible reports that the actual figure is closer to 8,000 executions in this period.

Some information is made public, and certain high profile cases and some crimes are made example of. The reasoning often provided for this is that it leads to the creation of a more "harmonious society".

But things are getting better, aren't they?

In 2007 legislative reforms were introduced. All death penalty sentences are now at the direction of the Supreme People's Court (SPC) and not lower level courts as had been the case. This does sound positive, however the implementation of this reform is questionable.

Most executions are carried out in the fortnight leading up to Chinese New Year (celebrated around February). Official Chinese figures in March 2007 stated that four people had been executed between January and March 2007, with the SPC reforms in place. Simply by monitoring news reports, Amnesty International is aware of 13 executions over this period, not including the four officially reported ones.

Under the reforms' open trial, SPC judges questioning the convicted person and presence of lawyers are all welcome possibilities. It is the consistency in applying these reforms that is questionable. A key problem is that without transparency on the part of Chinese authorities, there is no way to monitor whether these reforms are being applied to every case as required.

Torture and unfair trial no barrier to execution

Of extreme concern in China is that there is no way to rule out that torture has not been used in cases where a person pleads guilty and is later executed. Incommunicado detention, inadequate access to family and lawyers and closed trials are not uncommon.

Confessions extorted through torture, which frequently occur during first interrogations, are often used as evidence against the accused in court. A defendant is effectively required to prove their innocence rather than the prosecution being required to prove that the person is guilty.

"State secrets", often relating to political or religious issues, are a reason given for legal proceedings to be hidden from observers. It is behind these closed doors that grossly unfair trials are conducted. Even an extra layer of review before execution cannot remove the prospect of these unfair trials and torture occurring in the first instances.

In November 2006 Xu Shuangfu, the leader of an unofficial Protestant group was executed along with 11 others. Xu Shuangfu claimed he had confessed under torture during police interrogation. He reported beatings with heavy chains and sticks, electric shocks to the toes, fingers and genitals and forced injection of hot pepper, gasoline and ginger into the nose. Neither the first instance nor the appeal courts would allow his lawyers to introduce these allegations as evidence in his defence.

Amnesty International insists that the SPC hear admissions from lawyers about allegations of torture; an amendment that was not included in the 2007 reforms.

Here are some case studies:

China: Executed According To Law? The Death Penalty In China shows the human lives taken by China's policy of retaining the death penalty.

Case studies on the death penalty in China are rare because in most cases the Chinese Government does not provide information on who is facing execution, where and what for. There are some cases in which the Chinese Government will choose to make an example of a certain person or a certain crime and publicise the decision to execute that person. In May 2007 it was former Senior Government representative, Zheng Xiaoyu, who was made an example of.

Learn more

Find out more about the death penalty worldwide.

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