Rates of Execution
By the confirmed numbers, the rate of executions in China is higher than the United States and Pakistan, though Iran executes more prisoners per capita. The Dui Hua Foundation declares that the true figures were higher; they estimate that China executed between 5,000 and 6,000 people in 2007, down from 10,000 in 2005.
The exact numbers of people executed in China is classified as a state secret; occasionally death penalty cases are posted publicly by the judiciary, as in certain high-profile cases. One such example was the execution of former State Food and Drug Administration director Zheng Xiaoyu, which was confirmed by both state television and the official Xinhua News Agency. Other media, such as Internet message boards, have become outlets for confirming death penalty cases usually after a sentence has been carried out.
In 2009, Amnesty International counted 1718 executions as having taken place during 2008 (which equates to 0.0001%, or 1 in 1,000,000 of the Chinese population), based on all information available. Amnesty International believed that the total figure was likely to be much higher.
On the other hand, researcher Andrew Scobell says that "there is a danger of exaggeration and hyperbole" in rights groups' estimated execution figures, and that "Caution should be exercised when considering allegations of even higher numbers of executions taking place". He notes that the Chinese government favors executions primarily for their deterrent value, which would be lost if they deliberately publicized low execution figures.
Read more about this topic: Capital Punishment In The People's Republic Of China
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