Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Amnesty International says China has significantly stepped up the number of executions it carries out. About 200 people were executed in the two weeks leading up to the Lunar New Year (9 February). According to the London-based human rights group, this is part of trend. China has in fact significantly increased the number of executions in recent months. State media reported that at least 650 people were put to death in December and January alone.
Various human rights groups claim that Beijing executes more people every year than the rest of the world put together. China carried out almost 90 per cent of the world's executions in 2003, putting to death at least 5,000 people, according to a December report by Hands Off Cain, an activist group campaigning to end capital punishment. Some within the Chinese Communist Party speak of 10,000 executions.
In China people are executed for crimes ranging from murder and rape to tax fraud and petty theft. The Chinese government insists the death penalty is imposed judiciously, and there has been some public debate among academics about stopping executions for non-violent crimes. Amnesty International says while the government claims the death penalty is applied cautiously, the current peak in numbers undermines any pretence of caution.
As is now customary for the days leading up to "hot" days such as the New Year, the government carries out many executions for security reasons. For instance, last year 36 people were executed before the 55th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic on October 1.