Chinese Criminal Law Revised

Flora Sapio has posted a translation of the revised criminal code of China, as amended by the recently concluded session of the National People's Congress.  The most notable aspect of the session is the NPC's failure to make any move to narrow the grounds for the death penalty, despite the NPC-prompted recent re-assertion by the Supreme People's Court of  its long-dormant  power to review all non-suspended death sentences .  

The death penalty is said by Article 48 of the Chinese code to be reserved for the "most heinous" crimes.  Although there have been press releases by officials claiming a 30% reduction in executions we still don't know 30% of what number?  Nor is there any way to know how "most heinous" is understood in actual practice.

Here is the link to Sapio's blog - Forgotten Archipelagoes - which is must reading for anyone interested in developments in Chinese criminal law.