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 18, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. HUMAN RIGHTS TALKS HAVE BEGUN, ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER
“We have commenced a structured dialogue with China on human rights issues,” stated Italy’s Prime Minister Romano Prodi after meeting his Chinese counterpart Wen Jabao in Beijing. “Dialogue is an important instrument for strengthening the preservation of
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
ITALY-CHINA. DEATH PENALTY ISSUE RAISED
“Yesterday and today, we brought up the issue of the death penalty with various members of the government of the People's Republic of China, hoping for a commitment in the reduction of crimes for which it is applicable,” stated Undersecretary for Foreign
- SEPTEMBER 15, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. SEVEN GANGSTERS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER, RACKETEERING
chinese courts have sentenced seven gangsters to death in two separate cases in the country's northwestern Gansu Province and eastern Anhui Province, according to the Supreme People's Court (SPC).
- SEPTEMBER 12, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. DEATH PENALTY FOR LARGEST HEROIN CASE SINCE 1949
Guangdong High People's Court, China, recently ruled on a smuggling case involving approximately 380 kilograms of heroin...
- SEPTEMBER 9, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA WILL NOT ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY, FOR NOW – PREMIER
Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, told reporters in Helsinki after the EU-China summit...
- SEPTEMBER 8, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court, China, sentenced Gu Huaming to death for the stabbing murder of a Taiwan businessman surnamed Lien at a night club in Jing'an District on October 6, 2005.
- SEPTEMBER 7, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
ITALY. GOVERNMENT SHOULD RAISE HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES WITH CHINA, D’ELIA
Sergio D’Elia, Secretary of Hands Off Cain and MP for the Rose in the Fist Party, made the following declaration:
- SEPTEMBER 7, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
EU. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HIGHLY CRITICAL OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN CHINA
just prior to the 9th EU-China Summit...
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. WOMAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDERING HER HUSBAND IN THE US
a Shanghai court sentenced 29-year-old Danlei Chen to death with a two-year reprieve for murdering her husband and hiding his dismembered body in the trunk of a car.
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. COUPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR PRODUCING, TRADING DRUGS IN EAST CHINA
a husband and wife were sentenced to death and to life imprisonment respectively in southeast China's Jiangxi Province for making and trafficking drugs.
- SEPTEMBER 2, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. THREE MEMBERS OF CRIME RING SENTENCED TO DEATH
Ren Jianying, Tang Weitao and Tang Yongli were sentenced to death by the Xi'an Intermediate People's Court in China’s Shaanxi Province for their involvement in a crime ring responsible for 22 robberies, 28 thefts and one murder from 2000 to 2004.
- AUGUST 30, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. TOMB RAIDERS GET SUSPENDED DEATH SENTENCES
a Chinese court handed suspended death sentences to two people for stealing from an ancient tomb...
- AUGUST 17, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MENTALLY ILL DRIVER WHO KILLED FOUR SENTENCED TO DEATH WITH REPRIEVE
Lin Qingqi, a driver whose car hit a group of people, killing four and injuring 22 in Kunming in Southwest China's Yunnan Province, was sentenced to death, suspended for two years.
- AUGUST 12, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. PROSECUTOR EXECUTED FOR KILLING WIFE
Chen Ping, a former chief prosecutor in Qindu district, northwest China's Shaanxi province, was put to death for drugging his wife and then stabbing her to death.
- AUGUST 10, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
describing an elaborate scheme of quotas, financial perks...
describing an elaborate scheme of quotas, financial perks, and central government involvement, a former Chinese policeman said authorities were stealing organs from people detained in China
- AUGUST 9, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA DENIES IMMINENT EXECUTION OF UIGHUR-CANADIAN
China denied a report that it was about to execute a Uighur-Canadian activist it accused of terrorism, saying his trial was not yet over.
- AUGUST 8, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. 19 YEAR OLD SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER
the Shanghai No. 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced Fang Lei, 19...
- AUGUST 7, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL EXECUTED FOR SPYING
a Chinese government official has been executed for spying for Taiwan, and thousands of civil servants have been shown an “educational” video of the case as a warning, two government sources said.
- AUGUST 7, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. ACCOUNTANT SENTENCED TO DEATH
Lu Weijin, an accountant in Zhongshan City in south China's Guangdong Province, was sentenced to death after being convicted of embezzling 17 million yuan (US$ 2.12 million) in bank deposits.
- AUGUST 5, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BURNING GIRLFRIEND
the Shanghai No. 1 Intermediate People’s Court sentenced to death Cheng Jun...
- AUGUST 4, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. ANHUI COURT EXECUTES THREE CONVICTS
Li Wei, Wang Qianjin, and Li Ya were executed.
- JULY 31, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. BANKER SENTENCED TO DEATH
Wen Mengjie, an official from the Agricultural Bank of China, was sentenced to death for corruption involving 15 million yuan ($1.87-million).
- JULY 29, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. TWO MEN EXECUTED FOR OIL THEFT
Ding Hanqin and Luo Xingguo, two men who led an oil theft ring, were executed in Guangyuan City, southwestern China's Sichuan Province, for stealing oil from a pipeline in western China.
- JULY 25, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. FORMER CHINESE POLICEMAN LIFTS LID ON ORGAN HARVESTING
earlier in the month a Canadian human rights organisation revealed the extent of political prisoners being executed in China and then harvested for body parts.
- JULY 24, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. DUO SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR MURDER OF 5
the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Court sentenced two gang leaders convicted of killing five people.
- JULY 18, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR HACKING REVENGE
Liang Jiqian, a man in Qinzhou in southern China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was sentenced to death after being convicted of hacking to death five children and one woman in an act of revenge.
- JULY 18, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. DEPUTY MAYOR GIVEN SUSPENDED DEATH PENALTY FOR CORRUPTION
Wang Qingming, former deputy county magistrate of Guiding in China’s Guizhou province, was sentenced to death for corruption and accepting bribes of more than 8m yuan [999,625 US dollars].
- JULY 14, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. COURT SENTENCES MAN TO DEATH FOR KILING SIX BOYS
a Chinese court sentenced Gong Runbo to death for killing six boys. Gong, 33...
- JULY 12, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
EU. THE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE CONDEMNS CHINA ON HUMAN AND RELIGIOUS RIGHTS
the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has, with a wide majority, adopted a report on relations between the European Union and China which asks Beijing for greater respect of human rights, religious freedom and freedom of information.
- JULY 10, 2006ChinaDEATH PENALTY
CHINA. SIX PROTESTANT PASTORS CONDEMNED TO DEATH
The Chinese justice system has condemned six Protestant leaders to death for homicide and fraud.