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
- JUNE 2, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
An official from Shenyang was sentenced to death for...
An official from Shenyang was sentenced to death for his role in a massive corruption case that brought the municipal Government to its knees, AFP quoted state media reports as saying
- JUNE 2, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A man was sentenced to death for abducting 104 women...
A man was sentenced to death for abducting 104 women and selling them as wives to unwed farmers
- JUNE 2, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
In an unusual case, a Chinese public prosecutor withdrew...
In an unusual case, a Chinese public prosecutor withdrew charges because of reasonable doubt against a murder and robbery case suspect who earlier had been sentenced to death
- JUNE 2, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Wang Zhihong, a man convicted of causing two deaths...
Wang Zhihong, a man convicted of causing two deaths by poisoning food in a school canteen in Chancheng County in China's Henan Province, was executed
- JUNE 1, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
June-July,2002: in the last two months 185 persons...
June-July,2002: in the last two months 185 persons were executed in China: 164 drug traffickers, 17 criminals involved in organized crime and 4 others were killed for corruption
- JUNE 1, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
With the approval of the Supreme People's Court, in...
With the approval of the Supreme People's Court, in its second trial, the Provincial Higher People's Court in Hunan Province executed seven criminals, the Xinhua Daily Telegraph reported
- MAY 31, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China has made all-out efforts to crack down on tax...
China has made all-out efforts to crack down on tax rebate fraud, said Deputy Commissioner of State Administration of Taxation Cui Junhui at a national conference on cooperation between trade and taxation departments in Dalian
- MAY 31, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Yao Ruihua, Xu Weiguo and Nie Shaowen, convicted of...
Yao Ruihua, Xu Weiguo and Nie Shaowen, convicted of murder and robbery, were executed on the orders of the Shanghai Higher Court
- MAY 30, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China executed a former central bank official for his...
China executed a former central bank official for his part in stealing nearly 15
- MAY 29, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Dali Prefecture Intermediate People's Court, in...
The Dali Prefecture Intermediate People's Court, in Yunnan Province, sentenced former singer Yang Hongying (2799 3163 5391) to death with two years reprieve for allegedly raising 114m yuan illegally, and 65m by fraud, the Guangzhou Daily reported
- MAY 29, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
In its initial trial, Yulin Municipal Intermediate...
In its initial trial, Yulin Municipal Intermediate People's Court, in Guangxi Province, sentenced Liu Jingsheng to death for abducting and trafficking in women, the Guangxi Zhengfa Bao reported
- MAY 27, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Director of the Public Security Bureau of Lucheng District,...
Director of the Public Security Bureau of Lucheng District, Wenzhou, in East China's Zhejiang Province, was sentenced to death for taking bribes and owning a huge amount of property of unkown sources
- MAY 24, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Former police officer Wang Luxiong and five gang members...
Former police officer Wang Luxiong and five gang members were given the death sentence for engaging in triad activities, the China News Service said
- MAY 22, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Chen was sentenced to death by the Shanghai No
Chen was sentenced to death by the Shanghai No
- MAY 21, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Uighur exile groups claimed that Chinese authroties...
Uighur exile groups claimed that Chinese authroties have detained as many as 3,000 people in Xinjiang since September [2001], with scores also executed for alleged terrorist activities
- MAY 10, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
On the orders of Beijing's Higher People's Court, eight...
On the orders of Beijing's Higher People's Court, eight Chinese criminals were executed in Beijing
- APRIL 29, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Zhengzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court, in...
Zhengzhou Municipal Intermediate People's Court, in Henan Province, convened a meeting to try 14 alleged criminals involved in five robbery cases, including an "Amway" robbery case
- APRIL 28, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A Chinese man sentenced to death for murder was saved...
A Chinese man sentenced to death for murder was saved from the executioner's bullet with only four minutes to spare because of the persistence of his lawyer and an available mobile phone
- APRIL 27, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Urumqi Municipal Intermediate People's Court, in...
The Urumqi Municipal Intermediate People's Court, in Xinjiang Autonomous Region, sentenced Qu Ligu, Chu Wei, and four other alleged criminals to death and terms of imprisonment
- APRIL 26, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Four men were sentenced to death for killing six people...
Four men were sentenced to death for killing six people by setting off a bomb on a public bus in March 2002, a court spokesman said
- APRIL 26, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The provincial people's court in Luoyang, Henan Province,...
The provincial people's court in Luoyang, Henan Province, approved the execution of six principal suspects, Wang Baoming, Liang Luomin, Xu Weiguo, Chen Jianjun, Yang Mengwen, and Chen Chao for allegedly leading and organizing criminal syndicate activities
- APRIL 25, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China voted against the resolution 2002/77 on the death...
China voted against the resolution 2002/77 on the death penalty at the 58th UN Commission on Human Rights
- APRIL 25, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The International Olympic Committee warned China that...
The International Olympic Committee warned China that it risks losing the right to hold the 2008 Games unless it improves its human rights record
- APRIL 25, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Nanchang Municipal Intermediate People's Court, Jiangxi...
Nanchang Municipal Intermediate People's Court, Jiangxi Province, convened a meeting to announce the execution of 13 criminals
- APRIL 25, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Justice organs in Xinzhou city, Shanxi Province, sentenced...
Justice organs in Xinzhou city, Shanxi Province, sentenced Tian Xuewen and Bai Zengyun to death for alleged involvement in a gift parcel explosion case
- APRIL 24, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
April, 24/26, 2002: Taiyuan Municipal Courts, in Shanxi...
April, 24/26, 2002: Taiyuan Municipal Courts, in Shanxi Province, convened meetings to announce judgments on 117 criminal suspects in 10 places
- APRIL 24, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Justice organs in Xining City, Qinghai Province, convened...
Justice organs in Xining City, Qinghai Province, convened a meeting to try 28 alleged criminals for homicide, kidnapping, robbery, and injury cases
- APRIL 20, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Four men convicted of destroying power lines in Beijing...
Four men convicted of destroying power lines in Beijing and Hebei province have lost their appeal against the death sentence
- APRIL 18, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Two mafia gang's leaders in China's Fujian province,...
Two mafia gang's leaders in China's Fujian province, Xu Jie and You Jianguo, were sentenced to death for violent crimes, damaging property, illegal business operations, bribery, gun possession and obstruction of justice
- APRIL 17, 2002ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China's "strike hard" campaign has entered its second...
China's "strike hard" campaign has entered its second year despite an admission by the top security official that it has not curbed rampant crime