China: February 9, 2005

Archives

In the last two months, Chinese media announced the execution of some 650 people. Nearly all of the dead were criminals, a few were corrupt officials. The majority of the executions on the planet take place in China, which only has 16 percent of the world's population. To the Chinese, the death penalty is a sign the government is serious about dealing with some problem, as getting put in prison is something that can be reversed after a few years, especially with a well placed bribe. That doesn't work if you get a bullet in the back of the head (the most common form of execution). The execution of corrupt officials is particularly popular, although rare. The military is known to benefit from these executions, taking the organs of dead prisoners for use in transplants at military hospitals. The military has its own hospital system, which treats non-military personnel for a fee. Transplants are particularly lucrative, especially when they involve organs that are hard to get.

 

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close