China
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 0
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 0
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · In January, the Nanyang Intermediate People's Court...
- News items in the archive
- 2,785
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
China is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 0 executions in the country, against 0 the year before. The archive holds 2,785 news items on China, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
SEPTEMBER 8, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYChina gives ex-Shanxi governor suspended death sentence for corruption
AUGUST 11, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYChina: Former Nanjing senior official sentenced to death with reprieve
- JULY 6, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE COURT HANDS FORMER LOCAL OFFICIAL RARE DEATH SENTENCE IN $324 MILLION GRAFT CASE
APRIL 22, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FORMER VILLAGE HEAD SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 21 CRIMES
Huang Dafa, a former village head and businessman in Hubei province, was sentenced to death on 21 charges,
- APRIL 6, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA EXECUTES FRENCH NATIONAL CONVICTED IN 2010 FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
A Frenchman sentenced to death in China in 2010 for drug trafficking has been executed, France's foreign ministry announced on April 4, 2026.
APRIL 1, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FORMER DATANG EXECUTIVE SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE
A former senior executive at major Chinese state-owned power company Datang Group on April 1st, 2026 was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve over corruption-related charges, according to state media reports.
- MARCH 29, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTY
FORMER CHAIRMAN OF CHINA AVIATION CONGLOMERATE HANDED DEATH SENTENCE WITH REPRIEVE
Tan Ruisong, former board chairman of Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Ltd., was on March 25, 2026 sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for graft.
MARCH 24, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: HIGH COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR MAN IN CHILD TRAFFICKING CASE
A man convicted of child trafficking has had his death sentence with a two-year reprieve upheld by a higher court in Shandong province, with the ruling taking effect immediately.
MARCH 3, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FORMER HAIKOU PARTY CHIEF GETS DEATH SENTENCE WITH REPRIEVE
Luo Zengbin, former Party chief of Haikou, the capital city of South China's Hainan province, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by a court in the province on February 28, 2026 for taking bribes worth hundreds of millions of yuan.
- FEBRUARY 26, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE COURTS CONCLUDE TRIALS OF TWO CRIMINAL GANGS FROM NORTHERN MYANMAR, 16 SENTENCED TO DEATH
Chinese courts have concluded the trials of two major criminal groups based in northern Myanmar involved in telecom and online fraud, the Supreme People's Court said on February 26, 2026.
- FEBRUARY 16, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINESE COURT ANNOUNCES 1ST-INSTANCE TRIAL VERDICT OF MYANMAR-BASED XU FAQI CRIMINAL GANG; XU SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH TWO-YEAR REPRIEVE
A court in Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality on January 30, 2026 publicly announced the first-instance
- FEBRUARY 12, 2026CanadaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA OVERTURNS DEATH SENTENCE FOR CANADIAN ROBERT SCHELLENBERG
China's Supreme People's Court on February 6, 2026 overturned the death sentence for accused Canadian drug smuggler Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian official told CBC News.
- FEBRUARY 2, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA EXECUTES FOUR MORE MYANMAR MAFIA MEMBERS
China has executed four members of the Bai family mafia, one of the notorious dynasties that ran scam centres in Myanmar, authorities said on February 2, 2026.
- JANUARY 29, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA EXECUTES 11 CRIMINALS LINKED TO MYANMAR-BASED GANGS
China has executed 11 people linked to online scam centres in Myanmar, according to state media, as Beijing toughens its crackdown on the illegal operations.
JANUARY 20, 2026ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: WOMAN EXECUTED FOR ABUSING AND KILLING STEPDAUGHTER
A woman who abused and killed her stepdaughter was executed on January 20, 2026 in Fujian province after the top court approved her death sentence, local authorities said.
- DECEMBER 26, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING HIS CHILDREN
A man was sentenced to death for tricking his two children into drinking pesticide, causing their deaths, the Zunyi Intermediate People's Court in Guizhou province said on December 26, 2025.
DECEMBER 11, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: MAN IN HEBEI SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING HIS WIFE
A man in north China's Hebei Province was sentenced to death for killing his wife, a local court announced on December 9, 2025
- DECEMBER 9, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: FORMER EXECUTIVE OF FINANCIAL FIRM EXECUTED FOR BRIBERY
China on December 9, 2025 executed Bai Tianhui, former general manager of China Huarong International Holdings Limited, after he was convicted of bribery.
- NOVEMBER 5, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: FIVE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN NORTHERN MYANMAR CRIMINAL GANG SENTENCED TO DEATH
Five members of a 21-person family-run syndicate based in northern Myanmar were sentenced to death by a Chinese court on November 4, 2025 for multiple charges
- NOVEMBER 3, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: SON SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING MUM BY RUNNING HER OVER WITH CAR IN INSURANCE FRAUD
A 23-year-old man in China was sentenced to death for killing his mother, surnamed Xu, in a staged road accident, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported on November 2, 2025.
- OCTOBER 15, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: FORMER INNER MONGOLIA LEGISLATOR SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE
Wang Bo, former vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for accepting bribes exceeding 449 million yuan ($62.88 million), a court in Hubei provin
OCTOBER 1, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTYCHINA: FORMER SENIOR POLITICAL ADVISER IN GUIZHOU SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BRIBERY
A former senior political adviser in Guizhou province, Chen Yan, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve on September 29, 2025 for taking bribes, Xinhua News Agency reported.
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA SENTENCES 11 MEMBERS OF MAFIA FAMILY TO DEATH
A Chinese court on September 29, 2025 sentenced to death 11 members of a notorious family that ran scam centres in Myanmar, according to Chinese state media.
- SEPTEMBER 29, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: EX-AGRICULTURE MINISTER SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE FOR HUGE BRIBES
Tang Renjian, former minister of agriculture and rural affairs, has been sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for bribery, a court in Changchun, Jilin province, announced on September 28, 2025.
- SEPTEMBER 21, 2025ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA: FOUR DEFENDANTS SENTENCED IN INFANT KIDNAPPING CASE
The Tai'an Intermediate People's Court in Shandong province handed down sentences on September 19, 2025 for four defendants in a child trafficking case, with two receiving life imprisonment and one the death penalty.
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 PENALTY
CHINA: 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.