China defended its practice of not releasing statistics...

China defended its practice of not releasing statistics on the number of people it executed each year, while insisting that it had become more open and transparent over the years.
Asked why China released information on the killing of poultry amid the bird flu crisis but not on humans put to death, foreign ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said it was inappropriate to link the two issues.
"I think when a country has or maintains the death penalty, that's based on the country's situation," Zhang told a regular briefing.
She declined to explain why China did not release statistics on the total number of people executed each year, even though it sometimes released reports about certain individuals executed - including corrupt officials or drug traffickers.
"The question you raised is not up to me to answer," Zhang said. "But I think with China's improvement and reform and opening, China has made great improvements in information transparency."