As it used to be said derisively in my part of the world, "Everything is bigger in Texas," with real meaning the same sentiment can apply to China, where almost everything truly is magnified astronomically in comparisons with other nations. The application of capital punishment is a case in point; it is also another similarity shared by Bush's home state and China. Read the numbers in the article below from Yahoo! News via the AFP (with a tip of the keyboard for the heads-up from China Digital News):
BEIJING, Feb 9 (AFP) - China, which puts more people to death than the rest of the world combined, has executed at least 650 in the two months leading up to the Lunar New Year, rights group Amnesty International said.
The executions reached a fearful crescendo in the last two weeks before the holiday, when 200 people were put to death, according to the London-based organization, which based its data on official Chinese media reports.
"The true figure is certainly much higher, as China refuses to publish full details of all the people it executes," Amnesty said in a statement on China's "horrific New Year."
China usually executes large numbers of convicted criminals before major public holidays in order to warn pickpockets, con artists and others who might try to take advantage of large crowds gathering in public spaces.
The scare tactics is especially used for the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, which began today. It is the biggest festival in the Chinese calendar, with hundreds of millions traveling, shopping and sightseeing.
"There is a huge gap between policy and practice with regard to the death penalty in China," said Catherine Baber, deputy Asia director at Amnesty International.
"While the government claims that the death penalty is applied cautiously, the ritual peak in executions we're witnessing at the moment completely undermines any pretence of caution."
Amnesty cited Chinese media reports justifying the execution of ten or more people at a time as a way to "protect social stability, and ensure that people can have a safe, joyful and happy new year."
"No convincing evidence has ever been produced that the death penalty deters would-be criminals more effectively than any other punishment," said Baber. "To suggest executions 'protect social stability' is a dangerous misconception."
The government keeps the total number of executions a closely guarded secret, but in Wednesday's statement Amnesty cited a court in eastern Qingdao city that had exceptionally revealed the number of people put to death in 2004.
"Fifty-seven people died at this single court, one of almost 400 empowered to pass and carry out the death penalty -- implying an astronomical number of executions across the whole of China each year," Amnesty said.
China's frequent use of the death penalty is one of the main human rights concerns of the European Union, which is considering lifting an arms embargo in place since the crackdown on the Tiananmen democracy protests in 1989.
"We hope EU leaders will remember these people when deciding whether to lift the EU arms embargo on China which was imposed in response to human rights abuses committed in 1989," Baber said.
