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
- MAY 11, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Four people were executed for tax fraud in Guangdong
Four people were executed for tax fraud in Guangdong
- MAY 8, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Three robbers who sacked 34 temples when disguised...
Three robbers who sacked 34 temples when disguised as police were sentenced to death in southern Fujian Province by the Higher People's Court of Fujian
- MAY 8, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A man was sentenced to death by a Guangzhou court as...
A man was sentenced to death by a Guangzhou court as the ringleader of a gang that kidnapped 27 women and sold them as "wives" to peasants, the Procuratorial Daily said
- MAY 7, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy,...
The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, a Hong Kong-based human rights watchdog, announced that the Chinese authorities executed 560 convicts between April 1 and 26 alone
- MAY 6, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Chaozhou Intermediate People's Court gave the death...
The Chaozhou Intermediate People's Court gave the death sentence to Huang Minghong and Ruan Junxian, in an open trial
- MAY 1, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
In Tibet, seven people were executed late in the month,...
In Tibet, seven people were executed late in the month, the first executions in the region since the strike-hard campaign began in April
- APRIL 30, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Adding up the official figures from Beijing papers,...
Adding up the official figures from Beijing papers, at least 400 people have been executed during April
- APRIL 29, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Jin Ruchao, the perpetrator of the notorious explosions...
Jin Ruchao, the perpetrator of the notorious explosions that killed 108 people on March 16, together with the other two offenders involved in the explosion, were executed
- APRIL 28, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Li Baomin, whose sentence had been ratified by the...
Li Baomin, whose sentence had been ratified by the Supreme People's Court, was executed in Fuzhou City after being convicted of belonging to a smuggling ring
- APRIL 25, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Li Guang, Mu Jiangqiao and Zhang Yunsong were sentenced...
Li Guang, Mu Jiangqiao and Zhang Yunsong were sentenced to death in south-west China's Yunnan Province
- APRIL 25, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Five major culprits of China's largest ice drug smuggling...
Five major culprits of China's largest ice drug smuggling case were executed in Taishan city, Guangdong Province
- APRIL 25, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China voted against the resolution on the death penalty...
China voted against the resolution on the death penalty approved by the UN Commission on Human Rights on April 25, 2001 (2001/68)
- APRIL 23, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The "strike hard" campaign against organised crime...
The "strike hard" campaign against organised crime launched by President Jiang Zemin in early April has totalled over 350 public executions to date
- APRIL 21, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
In public trials, Chinese courts in Chongqing Municipality...
In public trials, Chinese courts in Chongqing Municipality and Hunan Province sentenced 14 criminals to death with their political rights deprived of for life
- APRIL 20, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Courts in Chongqing and Chengde sentenced four men...
Courts in Chongqing and Chengde sentenced four men to death for robbery and murder in three provinces
- APRIL 20, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Courts of various levels in Hainan Province held open...
Courts of various levels in Hainan Province held open sentencing rallies at nine cities and counties - Haikou, Sanya, Changjiang, Wanning, Qiongshan, Wenchang, Baisha, Qionghai, and Lingao - at the same time to sentence 130 criminal elements involved in 3
- APRIL 20, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
As part of the "strike-hard" campaign, which began...
As part of the "strike-hard" campaign, which began mid-April, Chinese courts in Sichuan, Henan and Guangdong provinces executed 12 criminals, the Supreme People's Court [SPC] said
- APRIL 20, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine said...
European Parliament President Nicole Fontaine said that she was "extremely shocked by the new wave of capital executions in China which several NGOs have reported"
- APRIL 20, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Sixteen criminals, including murderers, robbers and...
Sixteen criminals, including murderers, robbers and rapists, were executed in Beijing after the No 1 and No 2 intermediate courts of Beijing openly announced their death penalties
- APRIL 19, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said the Chinese...
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said the Chinese Foreign Ministry demanded that the United States repatriate Zhang Honggbao the leader of Zhong Gong a spiritual sect that has been banned in China, where he is accused of violent crimes and could f
- APRIL 19, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
A record tally of 206 executions were carried out in...
A record tally of 206 executions were carried out in China on one day, surpassing the previous record of 89 executions on April 11
- APRIL 18, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Legal Daily [Fazhi Ribao] said nine people were...
The Legal Daily [Fazhi Ribao] said nine people were executed in Lanzhou [Gansu Province] while five others died in Yinchuan [Ningxia Province]
- APRIL 18, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court sentenced...
The Shijiazhuang Intermediate People's Court sentenced to death Jin Ruchao for bombings in Hebei province that killed 108 people in March
- APRIL 15, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Shandong authorities executed 12 people for murder,...
Shandong authorities executed 12 people for murder, armed robbery, fraud and other crimes
- APRIL 13, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The Supreme People's Court issued a circular, requiring...
The Supreme People's Court issued a circular, requiring that law courts take severe and quick legal actions against criminal offenders
- APRIL 11, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
China executed 89 convicted criminals as part of its...
China executed 89 convicted criminals as part of its nationwide "strike hard" campaign against organised crime
- APRIL 10, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
The No
The No
- APRIL 7, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Three people were sentenced to death for their part...
Three people were sentenced to death for their part in a contract killing ordered by a local Communist Party boss which led to two more deaths than planned
- APRIL 6, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Relatives of the 58 Chinese migrants who died suffocated...
Relatives of the 58 Chinese migrants who died suffocated in a lorry on ferry-crossing to the United Kingdom were expressing hopes that the driver who deliberately closed the air vent, Perry Wacker, would be sentenced to death
- APRIL 3, 2001ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Swedish Ambassador Johan Molander speaking at the 57th...
Swedish Ambassador Johan Molander speaking at the 57th session of the United Nations' Commission on Human Rights on behalf of the European Union, condemned the use of the death penalty in China