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
- JANUARY 15, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Yunfu Intermediate People's Court, in China's Guangdong...
The Yunfu Intermediate People's Court, in China's Guangdong Province, recently sentenced Xie Guoxing to death, Shen Jianhua to death with reprieve and 14 others to various terms imprisonment for trafficking in children
- JANUARY 9, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Three members of a mafia gang and four murderers were...
Three members of a mafia gang and four murderers were executed in two Chinese provinces, Chinese media reported
- JANUARY 9, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Lin Guan, a 26 year old elementary school teacher in...
Lin Guan, a 26 year old elementary school teacher in south China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was sentenced to death by a local court for raping four school girls, aged between nine and twelve
- JANUARY 8, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Two ethnic Korean-Chinese people were executed by firing...
Two ethnic Korean-Chinese people were executed by firing squad and two others were sentenced to 25 years in prison
- JANUARY 8, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A court in Duanzhou District in China's Guangdong Province,...
A court in Duanzhou District in China's Guangdong Province, recently sentenced Zuo Chengfa, 21, to death for drug trafficking, the Xinxi Shibao newspaper reported
- JANUARY 7, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that the Xinzhou Intermediate People's...
It was reported that the Xinzhou Intermediate People's Court in China's Shanxi Province recently sentenced Shi Xinquan to death for illegally using explosives
- JANUARY 6, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that a court in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province,...
It was reported that a court in Hanzhong, Shaanxi Province, carried out the order of the Provincial Higher People's Court to execute Yu Xukang and Wei Fubing for the robbery and murder of Zhang Yunting, deputy director of the Hanzhong People's Congress on
- JANUARY 5, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Six drug runners were sentenced to death and four others...
Six drug runners were sentenced to death and four others given life imprisonment by a southern Chinese court after being convicted of trafficking some 58 kilograms (127 pounds) of heroin, state press said
- JANUARY 1, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Hebi Court in China's Henan Province sentenced Gao...
Hebi Court in China's Henan Province sentenced Gao Baoqing to death and five others to terms of imprisonment for the murder of Xu Donglin, director of Qixian County Grain Reserve Administration on 17 January 2003
- DECEMBER 30, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court sentenced...
The Shanghai No 1 Intermediate People's Court sentenced Wang Siyuan to death for manslaughter
- DECEMBER 30, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A Falun Gong cult follower who poisoned and killed...
A Falun Gong cult follower who poisoned and killed 15 innocent people was given death penalty by a court in east China's Zhejiang province, the website of the official news agency Xinhua said
- DECEMBER 29, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Hainan International Investment Group's former chairman...
Hainan International Investment Group's former chairman Li Yaoqi was executed in the Hainan provincial capital of Haikou after being convicted of amassing a huge fortune while his state-owned investment company went bankrupt, Xinhua news agency reported
- DECEMBER 29, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A Chinese court sentenced a disgraced provincial vice...
A Chinese court sentenced a disgraced provincial vice governor to death for accepting bribes and because he could not account for assets which outstripped his income, state media said
- DECEMBER 26, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Nanning Intermediate People's Court in China's...
The Nanning Intermediate People's Court in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region sentenced Ma Hanhua and Weng Rujin to death for drug trafficking
- DECEMBER 25, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A court in Yinchuan, Ningxia Autonomous Region, sentenced...
A court in Yinchuan, Ningxia Autonomous Region, sentenced Sun Denglin, Zhu Weilin, Xu Penghui and Zhou Shulin to death for issuing false specialised value-added tax invoices, the Ningxia Ribao newspaper reported
- DECEMBER 22, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Mafia kingpin Liu Yong was sentenced to death and executed...
Mafia kingpin Liu Yong was sentenced to death and executed despite doubts over his confession, in a ruling that marked the first time the Supreme Court has circumvented China's two-trial criminal law system
- DECEMBER 19, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Zhao Guoma, 40, the leader of a major drug smuggling...
Zhao Guoma, 40, the leader of a major drug smuggling ring in south China's Guangdong province, was executed and 17 other drug dealers were given the death penalty or life imprisonment, Xinhua news agency reported
- DECEMBER 18, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Ma Yong, 43, and his partner Duan Zhiqun, 20, were...
Ma Yong, 43, and his partner Duan Zhiqun, 20, were executed after being convicted by the Shenzhen Intermediate People's Court of murdering and robbing 12 women lured to their deaths with offers of jobs in the southern Chinese town of Shenzhen
- DECEMBER 18, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China's supreme court urged courts nationwide to equip...
China's supreme court urged courts nationwide to equip themselves with special execution vans that can put to death convicted criminals immediately after sentencing, a judicial official said
- DECEMBER 16, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Liu Guo, a former deputy manager for China Grain Reserves...
Liu Guo, a former deputy manager for China Grain Reserves Corporation, was sentenced to death with a two year reprieve for taking bribes and misappropriating public funds, Xinhua news agency said
- DECEMBER 16, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Chen Yongfeng, a 20 year old garbage collector, was...
Chen Yongfeng, a 20 year old garbage collector, was sentenced to death for killing and cutting up 10 co-workers
- DECEMBER 16, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Shanghai Higher People's Court, China, sentenced...
The Shanghai Higher People's Court, China, sentenced to death two men, Liu Changman and Zhang Ping, for manslaughter
- DECEMBER 15, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China's top judge, Xiao Yang, president of the Supreme...
China's top judge, Xiao Yang, president of the Supreme People's Court, said crime was on the rise, and called on the country to continue its controversial "Strike Hard" campaign, which rights groups warned lead to abuses of justice
- DECEMBER 15, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Three men were sentenced to death after being convicted...
Three men were sentenced to death after being convicted of kidnapping 32 young women and selling them into marriages for as little as 1,000 yuan (120 dollars), state press reported
- DECEMBER 13, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Three farmers, a worker and an unknown number of other...
Three farmers, a worker and an unknown number of other people were executed in China's capital, the Beijing Legal Times reported
- DECEMBER 12, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Wang Jiande, Wang Jianfu and Chen Guo, three members...
Wang Jiande, Wang Jianfu and Chen Guo, three members of a criminal gang, were executed in south-eastern China's Fujian province after a court convicted them of murder, armed robbery and other violent crimes, the People's Court Daily reported
- DECEMBER 11, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Four people were given death sentences, suspended for...
Four people were given death sentences, suspended for two years, and 30 others were jailed for up to life in a case involving a huge amount of illegal caffeine, state media reported
- DECEMBER 10, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A man in southern China's Guangxi province was sentenced...
A man in southern China's Guangxi province was sentenced to death for killing two people and injuring 10 others in a spate of rat-poisoning incidents
- DECEMBER 9, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Li Daxiao, former director of the Civil Affairs Bureau...
Li Daxiao, former director of the Civil Affairs Bureau of Xiajin County, in east China's Shandong Province, was sentenced to death with a reprieve for murder
- DECEMBER 9, 2003ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A man in central China was found guilty of murdering...
A man in central China was found guilty of murdering 17 boys and sentenced to death