Hu Changqing, 48, former Jiangxi Province Deputy Governor,...

Hu Changqing, 48, former Jiangxi Province Deputy Governor, was executed in the provincial capital of Nanchang. Hu was convicted of using his position to earn $650,000 in bribes. On February15, Hu was given the death sentence by the Intermediate People's Court of the city of Nanchan. The death sentence was upheld on March 7 by the Supreme People `s Court of China. The execution took place on the fourth day of the annual session of the National People's Congress and was deliberately timed to impress the delegates. Although largely powerless, the party-dominated national legislature has routinely expressed its displeasure with the government's inability to effectively combat corruption. On March 3 President Jiang Zemin said: "Hu is the most senior official to have been given the death sentence for corruption charges." "But unless we do so, we can't drive home the point that the central authorities are serious about busting graft." This aroused strong reactions among the deputies of the NPC [National People's Congress] and national committee members of the CPPCC [Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference] who were attending the "two sessions" [NPC Congress and CPPCC National Committee meeting] in Beijing. While applauding it in high glee, they also offered opinions calling for stepped-up efforts to gradually suppress corrupt practices. Hu was the highest-ranking Chinese leader to be publicly executed since China's economic reforms began in 1978, and he became the highest-ranking official whose execution was announced publicly in the 50-year history of China. An editorial in the Communist Party's People's Daily said, "The severe punishment of Hu Changqing according to law serves as a caution to the Party's leading members, a warning to those who have still failed to correct their wrongdoing, and an encouragement to the general public."