China
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- communist state
- CONSTITUTION
- December 4, 1982, amended several times, last in 2004.
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on civil law, of Soviet derivation and derived from the legal principles of the continental civil code
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- unicameral, National People's Congress (Quanguo Renmin Daibiao Dahui)
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme People's Court, judges appointed by the National People's Congress; local people's courts and special people's courts
RELIGIONS
Buddhists 18.2%, Christians 5.1%, Muslims 1.8%, others 0.7%, unspecified 52.2%
From the country
SEPTEMBER 7, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FORMER OFFICIAL OF MINISTRY SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH TWO-YEAR REPRIEVE FOR LEAKING STATE SECRETS
China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) on September 4, 2025 revealed that a former official of a state ministry was lured into befriending a spy, then blackmailed using compromising information, ultimately leading to his conviction for espionage and a d
AUGUST 27, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FORMER HAINAN SENIOR OFFICIAL SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE
Liu Xingtai, a former senior official from Hainan province was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on for accepting bribes totaling more than 316 million yuan ($43.4 million), a court announced on August 26, 2025.
- JULY 24, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE ENTERTAINER ZHANG YIYANG EXECUTED FOR MURDERING 16-YEAR-OLD GIRLFRIEND
Chinese entertainer Zhang Yiyang, accused of murdering his 16-year-old girlfriend in 2022, was executed on December 18 in 2024, according to a detailed investigation report recently released by the Intermediate People's Court of Xianyang in North Shaanxi
JULY 9, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FORMER SENIOR POLITICAL ADVISOR OF XINJIANG HANDED DEATH SENTENCE WITH REPRIEVE FOR BRIBERY
Dou Wangui, a former senior political advisor of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, was sentenced on July 7, 2025 to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes.
- JUNE 23, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: FORMER NATIONAL POLITICAL ADVISER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR CORRUPTION
Liu Yuejin, a former national political adviser, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes of more than 121 million yuan ($16.83 million), a court in Fujian province announced on June 23, 2025.
MAY 20, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: EX-POLITICAL ADVISER GETS SUSPENDED DEATH PENALTY
Han Yong, a former senior national political adviser, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on May 19, 2025 for accepting bribes, a court in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region announced.
- MAY 19, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: FORMER CHIP BOSS GETS SUSPENDED DEATH SENTENCE IN CORRUPTION CASE
A Chinese court handed Zhao Weiguo, the former chairman of semiconductor firm Tsinghua Unigroup, a suspended death sentence on May 14, 2025 after he was found guilty of corruption and embezzlement, state broadcaster CCTV reported.
MAY 17, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: 3 MEN CONVICTED OF RAPING MINORS EXECUTED
Three sex offenders convicted of sexually assaulting minors were executed in China on May 15, 2025, according to an official statement from the Supreme People's Court (SPC), the country's highest court.
- APRIL 23, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA GIVES SUSPENDED DEATH SENTENCE TO FORMER XINJIANG OFFICIAL FOR CORRUPTION
Li Pengxin, a former senior official of the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes totaling more than 822 million yuan ($112 million), according to a verdict on April 22, 2025.
APRIL 22, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: MAN WHO STABBED JAPANESE CHILD TO DEATH EXECUTED
A Chinese man convicted of fatally stabbing a 10-year-old Japanese schoolboy in Shenzhen, southern China, in September has been executed, a diplomatic source said on April 21, 2025.
- APRIL 17, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: SCHOOL BUS STOP MURDERER EXECUTED
A Chinese man convicted of killing a Chinese woman and injuring two Japanese nationals in a knife attack at a school bus stop near Shanghai last year was executed, Japanese government officials said April 17, 2025.
APRIL 7, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: POSTGRADUATE STUDENT SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR POISONING ROOMMATES
Zhou Liren, a postgraduate student at Xiangtan University in Hunan province, was sentenced to death and life-long deprivation of political rights on April 7, 2025 for poisoning his two roommates' food, killing one of them, according to the Xiangtan Interm