Beijing - An estimated 1,000 people have been put to death in China this year as part of a major "strike-hard" campaign by the authorities, Miriam Donohoe reports. The figures have been compiled from state newspaper reports, the only source of such data in the country.
Amnesty International said yesterday: "We know that only a small fraction of all death sentences are ever publicised in the media, the source that we rely on because the Chinese government do not publish their own figures." The Jiangxi Legal News reported that last week 17 murderers, robbers or kidnappers were executed on a single day. On June 5th, the south-western city of Chongqing executed 21 people.
The Tibet Legal News reported recently that seven people were executed in late May after convictions for murder, theft and setting explosions. Diplomats said the torrid pace of state-administered killings was likely to pick up with the customary executions of drug traffickers for International Anti-Drugs Day on June 26th.