Zhang Lijia meets long-time China observer, Prof. Randy Peerenboom, to discuss the execution of a British drug trafficker by the Chinese government, and the realities of sentencing in China.

According to Amnesty International, more than two-thirds of the world’s countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. But while capital punishment remains a controversial issue throughout the world- China has continued carrying out the practice in estimated record numbers. But now- a potential revision of the country’s criminal law may see the first reduction in the number of crimes carrying the death penalty since the law was enacted in 1979. BON’s Kelda Yuen has more.

Our laws developed much later, so our situation is different from other countries. I don’t think we should show more mercy to criminals, especially flagrant ones. We don’t need to make many changes in the criminal laws. The death penalty has existed for a long time in Chinese history. If you let criminals back into society, they may harm the social order. I don’t know much about the law. I just know anyone who seriously violates the law and harms social order deserves the death penalty. If they are lightly penalized, how will we be able to face the victims? It won’t damage our national image because we would be separating the criminals from the people.

The death sentence handed down to (The execution of) British drug smuggler Akmal Shaikh and the requests for clemency from the British government and other groups has highlighted the conflicting attitudes towards both the death penalty and the defense of "diminished responsibility" in China and the UK.

The death sentence handed down to (The execution of) British drug smuggler Akmal Shaikh and the requests for clemency from the British government and other groups has highlighted the conflicting attitudes towards both the death penalty and the defense of “diminished responsibility” in China and the UK.

The has set off a torrent of discussion on-line with thousands of comments left at ifeng.com - a popular Chinese website that has been reporting the case.

The vast majority are of the opinion that it would not only be unfair but a serious challenge to Chinese law if the government spared the life of a convicted drug smuggler. These people insist there should be no sympathy for drug smugglers as heroin is one of the most dangerous drugs on the planet. They say it harms people, society and families – and the problems it causes cost the government billions a year. In addition there’s a widespread feeling that the way China runs its legal system is nothing to do with outsiders. They say this man was in China when he committed the crime and it should be up to the Chinese courts to punish criminals as they see fit.

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