Capital offences in China
In Mainland China, there are 46[1] criminal offenses eligible for the death penalty.[2][3] These are defined in the criminal law of China, which comprehensively identifies criminal acts and their corresponding liabilities.[4]
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A 2011 amendment to this law for the purpose of legal provisions improvement reduced the number of capital crimes by 19.1% and gave more lenient punishments to minors and the elderly (75 years old and above).[4]
In 2015, the criminal code was amended to remove nine capital offenses:[5][6][7][8]
- Smuggling weapons or ammunition
- Smuggling nuclear materials
- Smuggling counterfeit money
- Counterfeiting
- Investment fraud/fraudulent fundraising.
- Organizing prostitution
- Forcing prostitution
- Obstructing military affairs
- Spreading rumors and undermining morale during wartime.
List of capital offenses
Crimes Endangering National Security
Endangering national security is among the crime categories included in the 1997 revision of China's criminal code.[9] It comprises Articles 102 to 113 of the 1997 Criminal Law and imposes the confiscation of property as a supplementary penalty.[10] The crimes included are:
- Treason
- Separatism
- Armed rebellion, rioting
- Collaborating with the enemy
- Spying or espionage
- Selling state secrets
- Providing material support to the enemy
Crimes Endangering Public Security
- Arson
- Flooding
- Manslaughter
- Bombing
- Spreading poisons
- Spreading hazardous substances (e.g., radioactive, toxic, pathogenic)
- Seriously endangering public safety, broadly construed
- Sabotaging electricity
- Sabotaging gas, fuel, petroleum, or other flammables or explosives
- Hijacking aircraft
- Illegal possession, transport or selling of explosives or firearms
- Illegally manufacturing, selling, transporting or storing hazardous materials
- Theft of explosives or other dangerous material
- Theft of firearms, ammunition or other dangerous material
Economic crimes
- Production or sale of counterfeit medicine
- Production or sale of hazardous food products
Crimes against people
- Intentional homicide
- Intentional assault
- Rape
- Kidnapping
- Human trafficking
Crimes against property
Crimes against public order
- Prison escape, jailbreaking
- Raiding a prison
- Smuggling, dealing, transporting or manufacturing drugs
Crimes against national defense
- Sabotaging weapons, military installations, or military communications
- Providing substandard weapons or military installations
Corruption and bribery
Breach of duty by soldiers
- Insubordination
- Concealment or false reporting of military intelligence
- Refusing to pass or falsely passing orders
- Surrender
- Defection with aircraft or ships
- Selling military secrets
- Theft of military weaponry or supplies
- Illegally selling or transferring military weaponry or supplies
- Killing innocent inhabitants of war zones or plundering their property
- Cowardice
References
- "China media: Death penalty". BBC News. 2014-10-28. Archived from the original on 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
- "China says death penalty to be used only for 'serious offenders'". Asahi Shimbun. The Associated Press. 2016-09-12. Archived from the original on 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
- 立行, ed. (2015-08-29). "中国刑法再次修正取消9个死刑罪名". BBC中文网 (BBC Chinese) (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2018-01-03. Retrieved 2018-01-04.
- Wang, Nathan; Madison, Nathan (2013). Inside China's Legal System. Oxford: Chandos Publishing. p. 311. ISBN 9780857094605.
- "China: Death Penalty Crimes to Be Further Reduced". Library of Congress. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- Van Sant, Shannon. "China Reduces Number of Crimes Punishable by Death". Voice of America. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- Daum, Jeremy. "It's a crime, I tell ya: Major Changes in China's Criminal Law Amendment 9". China Law Translate. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- Plaçais, Aurélie. "China reduces the number of crimes punishable by death to 46, but keep drug trafficking in the list". World Coalition against the Death Penalty. Retrieved 23 June 2019.
- Lu, Hong; Miethe, Terance (2007). China's Death Penalty: History, Law and Contemporary Practices. New York: Routledge. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-0415955690.
- Young, Simon (2009). Civil Forfeiture of Criminal Property: Legal Measures for Targeting the Proceeds of Crime. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 259. ISBN 9781847208262.
Further reading
- LU Hong (2008-11-05). "China's Death Penalty: Reforms on Capital Punishment (EAI Background Brief No. 412" (PDF). East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-02-15.