A news report by The Associated Press said that China still remains as the world’s top executioner. China accounted for at least 5,000 executions which is around 87.3% of the total number of executions world wide.
This news was followed by reports stating that the Supreme People’s Court is moving to restrict the number of death sentences and imposing stricter legislations with regards to capital punishment.
It was just a few weeks ago that Beijing agreed to phase out firing squad executions in favor of lethal injections.
One of the more gruesome reports came after Jiang Yong, a local planning official was found to be taking bribes. He gets death penalty and not just by any typical lethal injection.
In chilling echoes of the ‘gas-wagon’ project pioneered by the Nazis to slaughter criminals, the mentally ill and Jews, this former member of the China People’s Party will be handcuffed to a so-called ‘humane’ bed and executed inside a gleaming new, hi-tech, mobile ‘death van.’
After trials of the mobile execution service were launched quietly three years ago – then hushed up to prevent an international row about the abuse of human rights before the Olympics last summer – these vehicles are now being deployed across China.
Developed by Jinguan Auto, which also makes bullet-proof limousines for the new rich in this vast country of 1.3 billion people, the vans appear unremarkable.
They cost £60,000, can reach top speeds of 80mph and look like a police vehicle on patrol. Inside, however, the ‘death vans’ look more like operating theatres.
Executions are monitored by video to ensure they comply with strict rules, making it possible to describe precisely how Jiang Yong will die. After being sedated at the local prison, he will be loaded into the van and strapped to an electric-powered stretcher.
This then glides automatically towards the centre of the van, where doctors will administer three drugs: sodium thiopental to cause unconsciousness; pancuronium bromide to stop breathing and, finally, potassium chloride to stop the heart.
According to the report, executions are expected to rise into the 10,000′s this year. Well, the current state of capital punishment in the country begs to differ.
What is gruesome is what comes after death–
Inside each ‘death van’ there is a dedicated team of doctors to ‘harvest’ the organs of the deceased. The injections leave the body intact and in pristine condition for such lucrative work.
After checking that the victim is dead, the medical team first remove the eyes. Then, wearing surgical gowns and masks, they remove the kidney, liver, pancreas and lungs.
Little goes to waste, though the heart cannot be used, having been poisoned by the drugs.
The organs are dispatched in ice boxes to hospitals in the sprawling cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, which have developed another specialist trade: selling the harvested organs.
Sounds like some urban legend? Well, and I thought organ harvesting is illegal. But apparently, criminals (maybe due to their insistence in disobeying the law) are not part of the law anyway.
It is not difficult to get a death sentence in China. From tax evasion to tax fraud, those are actually enough for one to face the death van.
But right now, if you are planning to take on some serious offense in China, you could breathe a sigh of relief–sort of.
What do you think brought about the change of heart in China? Is it due to the insistence of human rights group or is it something else?
Do you think capital punishment can serve to discipline the people?
Take organs from executed prisoner…My mother took part in that when she once was the chief of nurses in local hospital,but the organs are not for sale-only when organs were badly needed by patients.
That was in the early 90s,back then there was no concept of organ donation here,so few organs were available.In order to save the patient,the hospital staff contacted the prison,then the prison arranged a meeting between the prisoner and the representative of the hospital.The hospital representative had to persuade the criminal to write a will,stating that he/she is willing to donate his/her organs.Guess what,in most cases the prisoners were more than happy to do that.May be like the old saying goes:”When you’re going to die,you tend to talk good.”
Then on the day of execution,after confirmed the death of the criminal,the hospital staff move the body into their ambulance and take the organs according to the criminal’s will and put them to good use.Also the remaining of the body was legally treated.
This is what I know.
That was almost 20 years ago and seriously AFAIK,there’s still no national law about organ donation in place here,so I expect some misbehavior.And look how people from all around the world come here for their quick and affordable organ fix.Geez…
Either the higher ups make a proper law or the biology geeks do a better job.Well,way to go.
“And look how people from all around the world come here for their quick and affordable organ fix.”
It’s immoral both ways: there’s a reason people go to China for a new liver or kidney, and still more reasons why they don’t have to wait very long once they’ve paid.
Very interesting, if gruesome, story…
Wondering why they have this kind of ‘death vans’. For parade to the public?
While organ donation is admirable, it should be voluntary. Organ harvesting, as described here, is unacceptable.
I have read that there have been cases whereby Chinese were executed for poaching. It sounds like animal life is more precious than human life.
It is to prevent the criminals’ friends from break them away when they are being transported to the execution site:So they make the execution site mobile and drive them in to prisons to do their job,secure and convenient.And by the way,public execution is no longer the “fashion” here so the vans are not for parade.
And yeah,human lives are kinda like money,valuable and all that,but when you got too many around,you gonna have some kind of inflation.
Then the “animal vs. human” part,when one of my friends got fired,his boss said:”It’s hard to find a three-leged toad,but two-leged men are more than enough.”Well,too many people and suddenly you find yourself become a replaceable digit.
It may sounds a bit disturbing to your overseas guys,but it’s the cold,hard reality here…sigh…
you for real a life is a life
At least they don’t have ‘death trains’ yet! Hehehe…
Yes, though this isn’t really a light topic–death trains would be more efficient, don’t you think so?
Then the main advantage of the van-the mobility-will be no more.
And by the way it’s not that good a joke if you ask me…
It seems this story is not that new.
USA today reported it in 2006.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-14-death-van_x.htm
Even the photo is the same.
Hmmm…maybe because Baoru is not the “freelance writer living in the Philippines [who] is very interested in China and basically all things Chinese.” If Baoru is really interested in Chinese organs, she can buy it in the supermarkets in Binondo. Adobo or adobado?
Hmmm…so you think Chinese organs are all over Binondo?
You bet. Chinese organs taste better with soy sauce, vinegar and bay leaf. And they’re all over Binondo. Try the mouth-watering dish called Intsik Adobo. Enjoy! :-)
I was just wondering where are you from? Do you even know what you are talking about?
And I’m not very comfy with “Intsik Adobo” too.
But thanks for your enthusiasm anyway.
now i know why i hate the chinese government
Most Western countries have abolished the death penalty, including all European nations, and the crime rate (murders) has not increased. I think that China executes people for a wide variety of crimes (could we have more info?) including corruption. To us it seems wildly excessive.
Besides, judicial punishment is not meant to “discipline the people”, but to deter potential offenders and show to the victims that their sufferings are dealt with seriously by society.
Prison terms, possibly with hard labor in the most serious cases, public humiliation of some criminals (corrupt officials, violent offenders, rapists), sending bullies to disciplinary military camps for a short period, chemical castration of some sex offenders, should be sufficient, at least in my opinion.
An obvious solution to replacement organs is to grow them based on stem cell research and the petri dish. This sort of research cannot proceed very far in the U.S. before religion gets in the way. What do you think of the potential of this kind of research in Asia?
I think when Catholicism is predominant in a country, that’s where the issues against stem cell research arise.
In our country, we’re not even there yet. We’re still talking about birth control.
When you say “show to the victims that their sufferings are dealt with seriously by society”, that is kind of “disciplining the people” too.
It’s like, watch your moves; because we are taking note of them.
Well, I have strong opinions when it comes to death penalty. The judicial process should be the one that is given attention.
Fucking hell. Don’t jaywalk here.
Following the link to Jiang Yong, it says he was given a death sentence with two year suspension. This is actually a punishment that usually does not end with death but is converted to a life sentence if the accused is on good behavior during the suspension. Was he killed?
I was researching on the Internet about this and saw articles on a later date but can’t actually confirm if the plans were pushed through. Could anyone check?
So he was sentenced to death with two year suspension, what kind of “good behavior” is expected from criminals for death to be converted to a life sentence?
Like being good in prison? I don’t know. Justice can be weird.
Again, could anyone check?
harvesting human body parts… yep id say the chinese government… whoever is running the show.. the devil is/has enjoyed your work and he will show you the real carnage.. rot in hell.
Let me get this straight. People have problem with they way China doles out captial punishement. I wish the US had some of their policys. You defraud a company or the goverment-put to death. You knowingly sell a product (bad milk), and it kills people-you get put to death. You get caught drug trafficing – put to death. China has fewer people in jail than the US while having 4 times the population. Madoff get’s jail, wall street thugs get bailed out, and drug dealers, murders, and pedophiles get to return to their neighborhoods for good behavior. The US spends 90k per year to keep someone in prison for life,with over 200k in prison for life thats 18billion per year. china may not be where the west is at but i think they are in pretty good place compartively.
i totally agree with china strict policy on capital punishment. it is the only country where people are afraid to bring drug and to do other nonsense, also that this human rights gives too much protection to criminals, strict punishment has really brought discip[line and fear to commit crimes since eternity, i mean till royal soveriegnty. so i totally agree to executes without exeption major law offenders.
how i hate the chinese Government they should all be put to death every last one Treat human beings like human beings not like animals