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
- 2,796
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 2,796 news items on China, from 1999 to today.
China is believed to carry out more executions than any other country, but the figure is a state secret: no official statistics exist, and the known cases are those reported by the press or heard in public trials. Capital punishment applies to a large number of offences, including economic and drug offences, and the system also provides for a death sentence with a two year suspension, which in practice is often converted into life imprisonment.
The news on this page is a small part of what happens, and it is the part that can be documented.
Latest news
- JULY 6, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry was taking measures to...
The Kazakh Foreign Ministry was taking measures to ease the sentences passed by Chinese courts on four Kazakh citizens found guilty of committing crimes in China, the director of the Kazakh Foreign Ministry's consular service department, Valikhan Konurbay
- JULY 5, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Shanghai No
The Shanghai No
- JULY 2, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that the China government sentenced...
It was reported that the China government sentenced to death to two Nepalese nationals and gave another 15 years' imprisonment after convicting them of drug trafficking
- JUNE 29, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Shanghai Railway Intermediate People's Court sentenced...
The Shanghai Railway Intermediate People's Court sentenced Hunan Province natives Yang Yan to death with reprieve and Yao Zhiqi to 15 years in imprisonment after convicting them of for drug trafficking
- JUNE 29, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Shanghai Railway Intermediate People's Court sentenced...
The Shanghai Railway Intermediate People's Court sentenced Hunan Province natives Yang Yan to death with reprieve and Yao Zhiqi to 15 years in imprisonment after convicting them of for drug trafficking
- JUNE 26, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Some 17 drug traffickers were executed in China's southwestern...
Some 17 drug traffickers were executed in China's southwestern Chongqing and eastern Shanghai municipalities to mark International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking
- JUNE 25, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Dozens of drug dealers were sentenced to death in a...
Dozens of drug dealers were sentenced to death in a series of drug-related criminal cases across China as the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking drew near
- JUNE 25, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Liu Zhigeng, a Chinese police officer, was given a...
Liu Zhigeng, a Chinese police officer, was given a suspended death sentence for beating a detainee to death and burying his body in secret to avoid discovery
- JUNE 25, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
six men were executed in China for murder.
six men were executed in China for murder.
- JUNE 25, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
13 men, Li Hong, Zhang Qingji, Tan Minglin and ten unnamed men, were executed
13 men, Li Hong, Zhang Qingji, Tan Minglin and ten unnamed men, were executed
- JUNE 24, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Three drug traffickers were executed in Wuhan, capital...
Three drug traffickers were executed in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei Province
- JUNE 24, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
three men named Xiao Tianhua, Xiao Zige and Cai Xiudong were executed
three men named Xiao Tianhua, Xiao Zige and Cai Xiudong were executed
- JUNE 22, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Wong Kan-ming, Wong Hon-tsing and Wong Shui-lun received...
Wong Kan-ming, Wong Hon-tsing and Wong Shui-lun received suspended death sentences by the Guangzhou People's Intermediate Court, China, for producing more than 600kg of Ecstasy
- JUNE 22, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The US ruled out the possible return of 22 Chinese...
The US ruled out the possible return of 22 Chinese prisoners held at its Guantanamo Bay detention centre to China because it feared they could be tortured or executed, according to a senior US official
- JUNE 22, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The US ruled out the possible return of 22 Chinese...
The US ruled out the possible return of 22 Chinese prisoners held at its Guantanamo Bay detention centre to China because it feared they could be tortured or executed, according to a senior US official
- JUNE 19, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Li Guoju, a woman, was sentenced to death by the Puyang...
Li Guoju, a woman, was sentenced to death by the Puyang intermediate and two others were given life imprisonment after being found guilty of trafficking 120 babies in central China's impoverished Henan province
- JUNE 18, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Xiao Yang, president of the Supreme People's Court...
Xiao Yang, president of the Supreme People's Court of China urged all Chinese judges to respect criminals' human rights
- JUNE 17, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Ma Jiajue, a university student convicted of killing...
Ma Jiajue, a university student convicted of killing four of his classmates and stuffing their bodies into a dormitory closet, was executed in southwestern China's Yunnan province
- JUNE 15, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
a man named Li Pingping was executed in China for murder
a man named Li Pingping was executed in China for murder
- JUNE 11, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Three convicted Hong Kong drug traffickers weere executed...
Three convicted Hong Kong drug traffickers weere executed in Shenzhen, China
- JUNE 11, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
the Xinxi Shibao newspaper reported that...
the Xinxi Shibao newspaper reported that...
- JUNE 10, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Yan'an Intermediate People's Court, in Shaanxi...
The Yan'an Intermediate People's Court, in Shaanxi Province, executed Li Hongwu, Li Fafu and Yang Lin for intentional homicide
- JUNE 1, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Jengchiang, alias Archong sae Chee, a 42 year old Chinese...
Jengchiang, alias Archong sae Chee, a 42 year old Chinese farmer in Chiang Rai, was sentenced to death by the Thai Criminal after being found guilty of possessing drugs with intent to sell
- MAY 28, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A South Korean man was executed in China on for murdering...
A South Korean man was executed in China on for murdering his Chinese girlfriend and her sister
- MAY 28, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A group of 12 convicted drug traffickers was sentenced...
A group of 12 convicted drug traffickers was sentenced to death by a court in central China, for the buying and selling of heroin
- MAY 28, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
"China will use its influence to encourage a fair solution...
"China will use its influence to encourage a fair solution to the issue of the Bulgarian nurses sentenced in Libya," Wu Bangguo, chairman of the Standing Committee of China's National People's Congress (NPC), told Bulgarian National Assembly Chairman Ogny
- MAY 28, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
the Sanqin Dushi Bao (Sanqin Daily) newspaper reported that...
the Sanqin Dushi Bao (Sanqin Daily) newspaper reported that...
- MAY 27, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
in its initial trial, the Anshan Intermediate People's Court in Liaoning Province...
in its initial trial, the Anshan Intermediate People's Court in Liaoning Province...
- MAY 27, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
in its initial trial, the Shantou Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong Province...
in its initial trial, the Shantou Intermediate People's Court in Guangdong Province...
- MAY 26, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China's rights record has made little progress in the...
China's rights record has made little progress in the past year and has worsened in areas such as the treatment of ethnic minorities, Amnesty International said