The actual number of executions in China is a state secret. Zhou praised courts for severely punishing crimes against state security and violent terrorism, and said the trend will continue in order "to resolutely safeguard the country's political security." The chief justice's report didn't say how many people were prosecuted or convicted of such offences, or how many cases were handled. Chief Justice Zhou said that Chinese courts dealt with 45,000 cases of graft involving 63,000 people last year, an increase from 2015. Dui Hua, a U.S.-based rights group, estimated that about 2,400 people were executed in China in 2013, one-tenth the number in 1983.

Source: ABC News March 12, 2017 01:53 UTC