Amnesty: China Executed Over 1,700 By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer BEIJING (AP) - China executed more people in the last three months than the rest of the world did in the past three years - 1,781 people put to death in a government campaign against crime, Amnesty International said Friday. The London-based rights group said China has put people to death not just for violent crimes, but also for bribery, embezzlement, fraud, pimping, stealing gasoline, selling harmful foods and drug offenses. ``The campaign is nothing short of an execution frenzy, a huge waste of human life,'' Amnesty said. The Chinese government did not comment on the Amnesty report. But China justifies the crackdown and harsh sentencing as necessary to ensure ``social stability,'' a catchall phrase describing the Communist Party's unrivaled authority and control over society. Amnesty said its figures of at least 1,781 executions and 2,960 death sentences - since the anti-crime campaign called Strike Hard was launched in April - were tallied from publicly available reports. In contrast, Amnesty counted 1,751 executions in the rest of the world over the past three years. But only a fraction of death sentences and executions in China are publicly reported and the actual number of people put to death is far higher, the group said. Amnesty, which opposes use of the death penalty, released its report one week before the International Olympic Committee votes on whether Beijing will host the 2008 Summer Olympics, or one of four other cities, including Paris and Toronto. Critics say Chinese human rights abuses make Beijing unfit to hold the games. Beijing officials say an Olympics would promote human rights in China. But they also argue that political considerations should not be used to judge Beijing's Olympic bid. Amnesty expressed fears that in their rush to produce results for the anti-crime drive, called ``Strike Hard,'' authorities risk executing innocent people. Police and prosecutors have been urged to cut corners to secure quick arrests and trials, it said. In southern Hunan province, police reported solving 3,000 cases in two days in April, Amnesty said. In southwestern Sichuan province, police said they apprehended 19,446 people in six days, it said. ``The potential for miscarriages of justice, arbitrary sentencing and the execution of innocent people is immense,'' the group said. Most executions take place after sentencing rallies in front of massive crowds in sports stadiums and public squares, it said. Originally targeted at organized and violent crime, Chinese authorities have greatly expanded the scope of the Strike Hard campaign, Amnesty said. In Xinjiang, a restive western region of China where militant Muslims are fighting Chinese rule, authorities have executed people accused of separatism, the group said. Authorities in the prosperous southern province of Guangdong, next to Hong Kong, and other regions have executed people for fraud, forging currency and ``disrupting the stock market'' in an effort to curb economic crimes before China joins the World Trade Organization, Amnesty said. China expects to join the rule-making body for world trade by early next year at the latest. GOOD GOD!!! ------------------ How the hell should I know why God would allow the Holocaust. I don't even know how the electric can opener works. - from Hannah and Her Sisters
If China executes someone for stealing gas, what do they do for treason? Make them sit through every Chicago Bulls game for the next 3 seasons? Make them watch I Love Lucy reruns? Self applied castration? ------------------ Rockets need power forward. Mo near now. Go near Mo. You can Run from the bet, you can Rave at the bet...but you just can't hide. [This message has been edited by Raven Lunatic (edited July 07, 2001).]
Come on pimping!? China should know that "Pimpin' ain't easy!" Man I wonder if you get executed for getting a parking ticket or jaywalking. That's a little over the top. I'm pretty sure George Bush is going to put a stop to this and jack up the execution rates here in the good ol' U S of A! Nobody beats America at ANYTHING! ------------------ "Instruments are like women: After a while, you want to make love to another." - Nicolas Godin of the musical duo Air
China is a tough question for me, as I am a strong capitaist. I believe that economic prosperety is the secret to peace. I also think it is time to play hardball with China. We need to semi-sanction them, economicaly, for 3 years, then reevaluate. If they don't clean up, then they will be left behind. Look what happened to USSR, economicaly. To me, a capitalist China could boost GP of the world by 7-13%. Oh yea, China is as big and bad as they come by human right standards. ------------------ "Chucky who? I thought we were talking about basketball?" Charles Barkley
After the execution (one bullet to the back of the head) the kidneys and liver are sold on the black market for organ transplants. ------------------
YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!! ... I LOVE LUCY! ------------------ "Yes, it's true. Kelvin Cato DOES have plenty of heart. I think the downside of Hakeem's six weeks absence is the upside of Kelvin Cato's emergence as a power in the NBA." jscmedia - 12/2/99 7:13pm : the off-season is truly a great time to reflect.
We are talking about a culture that sanctions the killing of female infants (in rural areas) because females are not strong workers like males. This is a culture in which a government official, in the last year, drowned a newborn in front of its parents, because the parents violated the "one baby" rule. This is a culture that ran over hundreds of students with tanks because the students wanted free speech. China murdered thousands of Tibetans and is successfully erasing the ancient Tibetan culture. Even now, the Chinese government is successfully squelching the internet information flow to its people. There are many more examples of the apparent disregard for individual life in that culture. How could these people have been so advanced in relation to the rest of the world 3000 years ago, and operate as they do today? ------------------
Personally, if it were me, DoD, I would take the self-applied castration over the Lucy reruns. ------------------ Rockets need power forward. Mo near now. Go near Mo. You can Run from the bet, you can Rave at the bet...but you just can't hide.
I wonder if Haven is living in China yet. I haven't seen him around much lately. Why just a while back he was talking about how great things are progressing there. Haven loves China! ------------------ First the Sopranos and now Eddie Griffin... thank you New Jersey!
You better watch out Jeff, discouraging remarks against the executions could lead to an execution. ------------------ Ceo of the Walt Williams and Lisa Malosky fan club. atheistalliance.org
I think we should be fair to say that it isn't a "culture" that supports this behavior but a "government." The Chinese culture is one of peace, predominantly. Tibet is a good example of that. This is a question of a government forcing its ideas upon its citizens in a country that has long been frought with civil unrest. But, if our culture had existed for thousands instead of hundreds of years, we'd have had plenty of civil unrest as well. ------------------ How the hell should I know why God would allow the Holocaust. I don't even know how the electric can opener works. - from Hannah and Her Sisters
King -- agreed...a culture that tolerates a govt like that is not one I wish to be a part of. A government only exists as long as the governed allow it to. You'll take heat for saying we have a "superior" or "better" culture from the "free thinkers"...but put them in a country that puts babies to death and stifles individuality, and we'll see where they stand. And the good news....Beijing will still get the 2008 Olympics!!! I don't want to hear any freaking Olympic official jackass say they can't come to Houston because of the death penalty in Texas!!! Freaking hypocrites!!! I hope we boycott these games. We boycotted the games in the Soviet Union in 1980...I see no reason why our position should be different today. ------------------ [This message has been edited by MadMax (edited July 08, 2001).]
Kingrene and MadMax- You guys need to stop using the word "culture". Why? Because when you use the word "culture", you are refering to the whole Chinese race. Guess what? I'm Chinese. Do I drown my kids? Nope. Do I follow the "one baby rule"? Nope. Was I in a tank running over student protestors in Tianamen Square? Nope. All these events take place ONLY in China, which means the government is responsible for all these events. Kingrene, you need to go back to that post of yours and replace every single "culture" with "government". In fact, I think I'll do that right now. We are talking about a GOVERNMENT that sanctions the killing of female infants (in rural areas) because females are not strong workers like males. This is a GOVERNMENT in which a government official, in the last year, drowned a newborn in front of its parents, because the parents violated the "one baby" rule. This is a GOVERNMENT that ran over hundreds of students with tanks because the students wanted free speech. China murdered thousands of Tibetans and is successfully erasing the ancient Tibetan culture. Even now, the Chinese government (GOOD!) is successfully squelching the internet information flow to its people. There are many more examples of the apparent disregard for individual life in that GOVERNMENT. How could these people have been so advanced in relation to the rest of the world 3000 years ago, and operate as they do today? That sounds a TRILLION times better. How did you NOT pick up what Jeff was trying to say at first? The more I read your posts, the more I thought you're racist or have something against this culture, Kingrene. Watch your wording next time. ------------------ [This message has been edited by New Kid On The Block (edited July 08, 2001).]
I'm not sure anybody here's a racist... ... but it's certainly not race oriented. Probably somewhat culturally determined. Confucian culture (if Chinese culture can still be called that) does emphasize the rights of the group over the individual. In that sort of environment, it's easier to justify repression for the sake of the "greater good." Some have even suggested (although I certainly wouldn't agree) that democracy isn't compatible with such a nation. IMO, greater repression is occurring because of pressures on the internal regime. Believe it or not, much of China is slowly democratizing. In the current government, regional sectors have much more authority than they did under the prior ruler. Many of these sectors have modernized autonomously independent of Beijing. As Beijing becomes increasingly impotent in comparison with the principalities (mostly in more developed economic regions), they're going to exert as much power as possible for purposes of coercion. That's probably why we're seeing so much Chinese aggression internationally right now. They're using their trump cards over the regional governments right now. I hope it's only a transition phase. ------------------ Clutchcity.net... source for all your Rockets, Astros, political, music, humor, and Gordita news.
A good soldier knows the heart and mind of the enemy. I am not a soldier any more, but I can talk all day about China. Details on request. ------------------
New Kid on the Block, I submit that you are using a tired debating technique of applying your definitions to my words, and purposely changing the tone of my post. For you to suggest that I accuse Chinese Americans of these crimes is such utter nonsense that any discussion of this subject with you is now impossible. Haven, that is a very good observation that the nature of the Chinese culture may make democracy impossible. The same notion is also a huge indictment of that same culture. Individual freedom is essential for any culture to be considered valid, in my opinion. ------------------
What do you think the people of China should do ? ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
Kingrene: Valid? That's a very strong position. Does it not have a right to exist, then? Is cultural genocide acceptable against invalid cultures? If not, why? I'm sure many people think otherwise, but I actually admire the "western" values of individualism and democracy a great deal. I'm hesitant to say the word superior... but if the entire world adopted them, I wouldn't be disappointed. In the end, I don't think Confusionism (this is taken from Samuel Huntington) is incompatible with democracy. After all, Japan and S. Korea are both liberal democracies, but philosophically, have changed little. ------------------ Clutchcity.net... source for all your Rockets, Astros, political, music, humor, and Gordita news.
It is easy for us to make decisions for other countries when we don't struggle with their problems. "Better" and "Superior" are subjective terms based solely on one's perspective. The Chinese culture is one based primarily on passivism handed down from the religions they have followed over thousands of years. It is no surprise that oppressive dictatorships have managed to take hold, but it isn't for us to judge Chinese people based on the merits or lack of merits of their government. If we did that of ourselves, we would come to the conclusion that we are a society full of lying, cheating, scamming egomaniacs who will do anything to keep our money and our entrenched social position. I'd like to think that we should base our assessments of people as individuals rather than groups. It is easy to dismiss "the homeless" or "criminals" or "communists" if they aren't your friends or loved one's. It is not as easy to dismiss someone you love who happens to fall into a category you might find uncomfortable or offensive. ------------------ How the hell should I know why God would allow the Holocaust. I don't even know how the electric can opener works. - from Hannah and Her Sisters
Soem of you guys need to use "culture" and "government" more carefully. When you say culture you mean ALL people, whether they are Chinese people in China, America, Europe whatever. It's the Chinese GOVERNMENT that is at fault, not the Chinese "culture". When Hitler went nuts and tried to kill off an entire "culture", do you blame the German "culture" or people, or do you blame the government? People can only do so much. So when you blame a Chinese culture you're basically saying that ALL people kill their children, or kill people for stealing gasoline, when it is actually the government that is doing that. But for people to justify the culture by saying "Well, if the people accept it, then it MUST be a screwed up culture", the United States has some screwed up laws. Did you know that in a lot of places that it isn't against the law to stalk people? And guess what? I could get thousands of people together to protest it and the law is likely not going to change. Do you blame it on the culture or the government? Those are two different things ------------------ "Instruments are like women: After a while, you want to make love to another." - Nicolas Godin of the musical duo Air [This message has been edited by RocksMillenium (edited July 08, 2001).]
