tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533171043031843199.post5024638135043979980..comments2024-01-30T05:43:28.525-08:00Comments on the capital in the north: Corruption and the death penalty in ChinaJi Xianghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03406727999722525339noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533171043031843199.post-1155047148341165202013-08-12T18:42:23.166-07:002013-08-12T18:42:23.166-07:00Well, by modern standards the death penalty is not...Well, by modern standards the death penalty is not being used "sparingly" in China, since it is sometimes administered for drug trafficking, serious corruption and other offenses which do not even involve killing anyone.<br /><br />I would think that using the death penalty sparingly would mean enacting it only for really heinous murder cases, for instance serial killers etc....<br /><br />I recognize that in China there has been constant progress on this issue over the last decades, as I said in the article. I hope this continues.<br /><br />If some Chinese literati were already opposing slow slicing in the 10th century then that is very admirable, since in those days such punishments were common worldwide.<br /><br />About the US, I think that European countries are far more advanced than the US in these areas. Switzerland does allow its citizens to carry firearms, but they seem to be able to do this without constant massacres being carried out by madmen in public places. It makes you wonder why.Ji Xianghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03406727999722525339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533171043031843199.post-81103174418598365772013-08-09T14:10:13.603-07:002013-08-09T14:10:13.603-07:00Jixiang,
Well, I think as long as it is done huma...Jixiang,<br /><br />Well, I think as long as it is done humanely, death penalty itself is not utterly uncivilized. Punishments like slow slicing, which is used for major crimes and first appeared at around the 10th century AD, is certainly not humane. That’s why many Chinese from the 10th century onward, especially those from the literati class, opposed it. As you pointed out, it was finally abolished in 1905. People of course have been protesting against the death penalty as well, but I think as long as it is used sparingly and administered with the greatest care in a humane way, it should be okay. <br /><br />As for America, I think it is definitely one of the most civilized countries in the world, despite some of its flaws. Regarding private ownership of guns, Switzerland also allows its citizens to carry firearms, it’s just that in the US it’s a more serious issue. As for China, while some progress have been made, it still needs major, vast improvement, pretty much in all areas.Scottienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533171043031843199.post-22734773991468829792013-08-08T19:21:38.464-07:002013-08-08T19:21:38.464-07:00According to wikipedia, this is the list of the te...According to wikipedia, this is the list of the ten countries which executed the most people in 2011, with the number of executions next to the name of the country:<br /><br />People's Republic of China: thousands of executions, maybe over 4000<br /><br />Iran: 360+<br /><br />Saudi Arabia: 82+<br /><br />Iraq: 68+<br /><br />United States: 43+<br /><br />Yemen: 41+<br /><br />North Korea: 30+<br /><br />Somalia: 10<br /><br />Sudan: 7+<br /><br />Bangladesh: 5+<br /><br />I think the United States should be ashamed of even being in such a list. And as for China, I know they have a bigger population than all those other countries put together, but still, do they really need to execute so many more people than everyone else?Ji Xianghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03406727999722525339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533171043031843199.post-58118778231308978942013-08-08T19:15:32.026-07:002013-08-08T19:15:32.026-07:00@Scottie: Yes you're right, the last public ex...@Scottie: Yes you're right, the last public execution in France took place in 1939. In Britain this practice was stopped in the the 1860s, about 150 years ago. On the other hand, the minimum age for capital punishment was raised to 16 in 1908, and to 18 only in 1933, which now seems unbelievable.<br /><br />As for your other point, I personally do believe that abolishing the death penalty is a sign of progress. I think it is not in doubt that the more progressive countries are, the less likely they are to have the death penalty. <br /><br />Over the last few centuries there has also been a clear progress all over the world towards less extreme forms of punishment for crimes of all sorts, something which is also true for China. After all, until 1905 people in China could still be executed with the dreadful method of slow slicing (凌迟), whereas nowadays they are at least executed humanely.<br /><br />The US is pretty much the only Western country left to make use of the death penalty, and even in the US, it is only some states which practice it, and they tend to be located in the least progressive areas of the country. <br /><br />And then again, we are talking about the only country in the world where ordinary citizens are allowed to buy and possess firearms, so even though it may be "the most powerful country in the world", when it comes to this sort of issue I think it is actually rather backward.Ji Xianghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03406727999722525339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533171043031843199.post-59152140232510855702013-08-07T22:44:27.568-07:002013-08-07T22:44:27.568-07:00Whether abolishing death penalty necessarily means...Whether abolishing death penalty necessarily means "progress" or "civilized" is still debatable. Certainly America as the most powerful country still has the death penalty. As for public executions in Europe, in France, at least, the last time it took place was in 1939, a while back, but definitely not 200 years ago.Scottienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533171043031843199.post-47027555440665291292013-07-31T04:06:21.879-07:002013-07-31T04:06:21.879-07:00Its not that long in Italian terms either.Its not that long in Italian terms either.Jonathannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533171043031843199.post-65929830819439158002013-07-26T23:35:51.944-07:002013-07-26T23:35:51.944-07:00Well, in Chinese terms 200 years is not such a lon...Well, in Chinese terms 200 years is not such a long time. Ji Xianghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03406727999722525339noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8533171043031843199.post-45425256299415318492013-07-17T09:11:13.209-07:002013-07-17T09:11:13.209-07:00Public hangings in your own country? That was at l...Public hangings in your own country? That was at least 200 years ago! But it's true that non-public hangings still took place until 50 years ago.Anna Lowensteinnoreply@blogger.com