06/22/2010

Executions In China Under Growing Scrutiny

June 22, 2010

Human-rights advocates from Amnesty International in Hong Kong protest the death penalty in China.

Protesters from Amnesty International in Hong Kong demonstrate in March 2009 against the death penalty in China. The human-rights group says China executed more than 1,700 people in 2008, roughly three-quarters of the world total.

Mike Clarke/AFP/Getty Images

Protesters from Amnesty International in Hong Kong demonstrate in March 2009 against the death penalty in China. The human-rights group says China executed more than 1,700 people in 2008, roughly three-quarters of the world total.

June 22, 2010

China's government is coming under increasing pressure to reduce its use of the death penalty, slowly shifting the country's legal system away from centuries of authoritarian tradition and toward greater legal protection for individual rights.

Beijing classifies the number of people it puts to death as a state secret, but it's believed to be nearly as much as all other countries combined. The human-rights group Amnesty International says China executed more than 1,700 people in 2008.

Legal experts are watching the case of a man in southern China who was sentenced to death three times — and then spared execution three times — to see whether recent legal reforms will save his life.

In 1983, Beijing wanted to punish criminals faster, so it gave provincial courts the final say over executions. It took back that prerogative three years ago

Read more at NPR

Jun 22, 2010 5:40:50 PM | Crime, Current Affairs, Environment, Law

The comments to this entry are closed.

NEXT POST
China's 'post '80s' workers stand up for their rights BEIJING - Younger workers now make up the majority of China's migrant labour force - and they are quicker to speak up than older workers when they feel their rights are being violated. This is according to a report by the country's official trade union, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions. The report comes in the wake of recent high-profile strikes at plants run by foreign car makers including Toyota, and Honda. Although it did not mention the unrest, it did refer to worries about social instability. The report said a study conducted in 10 cities from March to May...
PREVIOUS POST
China, Playing a More Mature World Role? My latest Capital Journal column looks at China’s recent cooperation with the U.S. on big-ticket items: President Barack Obama, badly in need of good news, got some over the weekend from the most unlikely of sources: China, which said it would allow the value of its currency to rise, thereby answering the single most fervent prayer U.S. officials utter when seeking divine intervention to help with America’s big trade deficit. In fact, this is the second time in a month that American prayers have been answered in Beijing. The first came when the Chinese agreed to a United Nations Security...