China to reduce number of executions?

China is to reduce the number of executions it carries out every year to "an extremely small level", an official said yesterday as the country retained its position at the top of world execution lists.

Zhang Jun, vice-president of the Supreme People's Court (SPC), said the court would impose more suspended death sentences in the future.

The comment came as a human rights report showed that China was responsible for 87.3 per cent of executions carried out worldwide in 2008 and the first six months of this year. More...

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