Adding up the official figures from Beijing papers,...

Adding up the official figures from Beijing papers, at least 400 people have been executed during April. In a fearsome 'strike-hard' campaign to crack down on crime, courts have been given carte blanche to speed up trials.Since the start of April, thousands of Chinese have taken part in public gatherings after which the condemned men and women were led away to be shot in the back of the head. Sometimes the families of the dead can have the bodies of their loved ones back, once they have paid for the bullet.