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 2, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
One person was sentenced to death and another to long-term...
One person was sentenced to death and another to long-term imprisonment for fraud using value-added tax (VAT) invoices valued at 400m yuan, by a court in Shanwei, south China's Guangdong Province
- NOVEMBER 1, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Seoul government asked Beijing to investigate allegations...
The Seoul government asked Beijing to investigate allegations that two South Korean citizens imprisoned in China on drug trafficking charges were denied their rights to due protection from Korean consular offices and one of them was physically abused by C
- NOVEMBER 1, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao called...
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhu Bangzao called on South Korea to conduct a thorough and all-round investigation and verification into the Shin Ok-tu [name as transliterated] case and immediately cease its unfounded allegations against China
- NOVEMBER 1, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Four gang members were sentenced to death for murder,...
Four gang members were sentenced to death for murder, kidnapping, robbery, and illegal detention of other citizens
- NOVEMBER 1, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The European Commission appointed the Galway-based...
The European Commission appointed the Galway-based Irish Centre for Human Rights to co-ordinate a E1
- OCTOBER 31, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Chief Justice Choi Jong-young expressed his regret...
Chief Justice Choi Jong-young expressed his regret at China's execution of a South Korean national convicted of drug trafficking and Beijing's failure to inform South Korea of the action
- OCTOBER 31, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Four lawmakers of the opposition Grand National Party...
Four lawmakers of the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) visited the Chinese embassy to protest Beijing's failure to give Seoul prior notice of Spetmeber's execution of a Korean national convicted of drug-trafficking
- OCTOBER 31, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Shi Qiaoling, a former doctor with the Tumour Hospital...
Shi Qiaoling, a former doctor with the Tumour Hospital under the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, was sentenced to death for defrauding 10
- OCTOBER 31, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Human rights violations might be committed more often...
Human rights violations might be committed more often in China than other nations, but the situation was constantly improving, Premier Zhu Rongji said in an interview
- OCTOBER 31, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China plans to clamp down on tomb raiders and impose...
China plans to clamp down on tomb raiders and impose tougher controls on markets and Customs checkpoints to try to combat the smuggling of antiques
- OCTOBER 30, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The South Korean government strongly protested against...
The South Korean government strongly protested against Beijing's failure to notify Seoul before executing a convicted South Korean drug trafficker in September and called on China to thoroughly investigate the circumstances
- OCTOBER 30, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Intermediate People's Courts of Shantou City and...
The Intermediate People's Courts of Shantou City and Jieyang City in Guangdong Province condemned 19 people to death and 30 others to life imprisonment for falsifying value added tax (VAT) invoices
- OCTOBER 30, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China's Supreme People's Court approved death sentences...
China's Supreme People's Court approved death sentences for two people described by Xinhua news agency as "criminals involved in a major tax scam"
- OCTOBER 29, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
South Korea protested to China for breaking diplomatic...
South Korea protested to China for breaking diplomatic practices by executing a Korean drug dealer in China
- OCTOBER 29, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Seoul's Yonhap news agency reported that another South...
Seoul's Yonhap news agency reported that another South Korean, a 50-year-old man named Yun, was sentenced to death this year in China for trying to smuggle two kg (4
- OCTOBER 29, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Ruling and opposition parties criticized China for...
Ruling and opposition parties criticized China for failing to give Seoul prior notice of its execution of a Korean citizen convicted of drug-trafficking
- OCTOBER 28, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Four gang members were sentenced to death in Sichuan...
Four gang members were sentenced to death in Sichuan for gang-raping eight college women and murdering seven of them, AFP reported
- OCTOBER 27, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
On September 25 the Chinese government executed a South...
On September 25 the Chinese government executed a South Korean, who was sentenced to death for drug trafficking, without any prior notice to the Korean government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) said
- OCTOBER 27, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
One in three homes in a poor village of the Ningxia...
One in three homes in a poor village of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in west China had seen at least one family member die from a drug overdose, the Workers' Daily found
- OCTOBER 26, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China will let an investigator from the United Nations...
China will let an investigator from the United Nations look into allegations of torture carried out by police and prison officials, the head of a European Union human rights delegation said
- OCTOBER 25, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A farmer from central China's Hubei Province was sentenced...
A farmer from central China's Hubei Province was sentenced to death for acquiring 47
- OCTOBER 24, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A former medical professor was sentenced to death by...
A former medical professor was sentenced to death by the Beijing First Intermediate People's Court for producing and trafficking drugs
- OCTOBER 23, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A Korean national has been awaiting execution in a...
A Korean national has been awaiting execution in a Chinese prison since 25 September after being convicted by China's highest court, sources said
- OCTOBER 23, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Chinese President Jiang Zemin asked Canada to extradite...
Chinese President Jiang Zemin asked Canada to extradite China's most wanted fugitive, the alleged smuggling kingpin Lai Changxing, promising he will not be executed if returned
- OCTOBER 22, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China gave a death sentence with a two-year reprieve...
China gave a death sentence with a two-year reprieve to a former vice minister of public security for taking bribes and forcing lower ranking officials to break the law, state media said
- OCTOBER 22, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
After a continuous open trial, lasting 16 and a half...
After a continuous open trial, lasting 16 and a half days, the Intermediate People's Court of Beihai City pronounced its initial trial judgment on the "Xitou Gang" case, a sinister group involving 41 criminals
- OCTOBER 22, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
In a comment published by the International Herald...
In a comment published by the International Herald Tribune, London-based China analyst Jonathan Mirsky said US President George Bush has made clear to China that its support in the struggle against terrorism was not going to provide it with a blank check
- OCTOBER 21, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Chinese...
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Chinese President Jiang Zemin signed the prisoner swap treaty when they met briefly in Shanghai on the last day of the Asia-Pacific Cooperation summit
- OCTOBER 16, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China sentenced a former city major to life in prison...
China sentenced a former city major to life in prison for taking bribes and his wife to death for corruption, selling land illegally and abusing power, the Procuratorial Daily reported
- OCTOBER 15, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China executed two accused Muslim separatists in the...
China executed two accused Muslim separatists in the far western region of Xinjiang, a state newspaper reported