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
- NOVEMBER 6, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China has executed 46 people in two days, ahead of...
China has executed 46 people in two days, ahead of the 16th Communist Party Congress, human rights group Amnesty International has said
- NOVEMBER 3, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The United Committee for the Abolition of the Death...
The United Committee for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, a Hong Kong-based group, launched a signature campaign along with religious and human rights organisations in Italy, Australia, France, the US and Taiwan
- NOVEMBER 1, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Another 17 people have been executed on the mainland...
Another 17 people have been executed on the mainland as part of a crackdown on crime ahead of the crucial Communist Party meeting congress
- OCTOBER 31, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Twenty-eight people were executed over a two-day period...
Twenty-eight people were executed over a two-day period for murder and other violent crimes after sentencing rallies in two mainland Chinese cities
- OCTOBER 30, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Xu Baosheng, former general manager of a state-owned...
Xu Baosheng, former general manager of a state-owned securities company in Baoji City, northwest China's Shaanxi province, was executed in Baoji on after being convicted of taking bribes and embezzling public funds
- OCTOBER 29, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Six criminals convicted of murder, kidnapping and robbery...
Six criminals convicted of murder, kidnapping and robbery were executed in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province
- OCTOBER 29, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Six criminals convicted of murder, kidnapping and robbery...
Six criminals convicted of murder, kidnapping and robbery were executed in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan Province
- OCTOBER 21, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
In an article published on the "Asian Wall Street Journal"...
In an article published on the "Asian Wall Street Journal" it was reported that fifteen thousand people were put to death for alleged crimes in China every year between 1998 and 2001
- OCTOBER 18, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A follower of the Falun Gong spiritual movement in...
A follower of the Falun Gong spiritual movement in northeastern China has been sentenced to death for strangling a daughter she believed was possessed by a demon
- OCTOBER 15, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Deng Chenhui, a former employee of an insurance company...
Deng Chenhui, a former employee of an insurance company in north China's port city of Tianjin, was executed for embezzling 4
- OCTOBER 14, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Chen Zhengping, 32, perpetrator of the 14 September...
Chen Zhengping, 32, perpetrator of the 14 September mass food poisoning case in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province, was executed
- OCTOBER 11, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China sent Zhu Xiaohua, its most senior financial official...
China sent Zhu Xiaohua, its most senior financial official nabbed for corruption, to jail for 15 years yesterday, but spared him the execution after he confessed to taking bribes prosecutors knew nothing about
- OCTOBER 8, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
An appeals court in central China overturned the death...
An appeals court in central China overturned the death sentences of five leaders of a banned Christian sect and ordered a retrial - an exceptional move in a country that controls religion tightly, a human rights group said
- OCTOBER 1, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The United States is to move to bar entry to Chinese...
The United States is to move to bar entry to Chinese nationals linked to the controversial global trade in organ harvesting
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Xinjiang Daily reported that Ma Yanshan was sentenced...
The Xinjiang Daily reported that Ma Yanshan was sentenced to death for murdering six members of his estranged wife's family
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The China Youth Daily reported that a leader of a village...
The China Youth Daily reported that a leader of a village in Hebei province was sentenced to death for trying to kill a man who defeated him in a village election
- SEPTEMBER 30, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A court in eastern China sentenced to death the owner...
A court in eastern China sentenced to death the owner of a fast-food outlet for poisoning snacks at a competitor's shop, causing the death of dozens of people
- SEPTEMBER 29, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China's southern province of Guangdong held several...
China's southern province of Guangdong held several public sentencing rallies which resulted in numerous executions ahead of the October 1 national day, state media reported
- SEPTEMBER 28, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Xinhua news agency reported that a man named Liu, 45,...
Xinhua news agency reported that a man named Liu, 45, was executed for cutting power and phone lines
- SEPTEMBER 27, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Liuzhou Prefecture Court, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous...
The Liuzhou Prefecture Court, in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, executed Wei Kesong, 23, for drug trafficking
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
State media reported that Liu Jingsheng, 47, was executed...
State media reported that Liu Jingsheng, 47, was executed by lethal injection, hours after a court rejected his appeal against the sentence
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The European Union urged China to improve its human...
The European Union urged China to improve its human rights record but said it believed the situation was gradually improving
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A female Russian citizen was sentenced to death in...
A female Russian citizen was sentenced to death in China's Yongan province for drug smuggling
- SEPTEMBER 24, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Yelena Timchenko, a female of Russian citizenship,...
Yelena Timchenko, a female of Russian citizenship, was sentenced to death in China's Yongan province for drug smuggling, a report from the Russian Foreign Ministry revealed
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A Supreme Court ruling came into force which provides...
A Supreme Court ruling came into force which provides the death penalty for civil servants convicted of major tax fraud
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Li Feng was executed for murder
Li Feng was executed for murder
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Chen Jianhua was executed for murder
Chen Jianhua was executed for murder
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Huanggang Intermediate People's Court, in Hubei...
The Huanggang Intermediate People's Court, in Hubei Province, sentenced Jiang Lin and Zhou Zhiyong to death for organizing other gang members to damage public and private property, and collect "protection" fees
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The European Union said it was concerned about human...
The European Union said it was concerned about human rights in China and will raise the issue when their leaders meet on September 22-24, diplomats said
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China executed a man for stealing 170 million yuan (HK$159
China executed a man for stealing 170 million yuan (HK$159