The actual number of executions in China is a state secret. A 2007 decision that all death sentences must be reviewed by the Supreme People's Court is believed to have reduced the number of executions dramatically. Chief Justice Zhou Qiang said in his report to the national legislature that the court has "strictly controlled and prudently applied" the death penalty, without giving any figures. China can punish 46 crimes with the death penalty. Zhou also said Sunday that over the coming year, courts will use the law to severely punish crimes of harming state security and violent terrorism "to resolutely safeguard the country's political security."

Source: Fox News March 12, 2017 02:56 UTC