Please write immediately in Chinese or your own language:
- urging the Chinese authorities not to execute Lau Fat-wai;
- calling on the authorities to ensure that Lau Fat-wai has access to his family and any medical attention he may require;
- urging the National People’s Congress to introduce a legal procedure for requesting clemency and to eliminate the death penalty for all non-violent crimes;
- urging the authorities to establish an immediate moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, in line with UN General Assembly resolutions 62/149 of 18 December 2007, 63/168 of 18 December 2008 and 65/206 of 21 December 2010.
PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 1 MARCH 2012 TO:
Supreme People's Court President
WANG Shengjun Yuanzhang
Zuigao Renmin Fayuan
27 Dongjiaomin Xiang
Beijingshi 100745
People's Republic of China
Fax: +86 10 6529 2345
Salutation: Dear President
Email: zgrmfy_mygt@chinacourt.org
National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman
WU Bangguo Weiyuanzhang
Quanguo Renda Changwu Weiyuanhui Bangongting, 23 Xijiaominxiang
Xichengqu
Beijingshi 100805
People’s Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Chairman
And copies to:
Chief Executive of Macau Special Administrative Region
CHUI Sai On Fernando
Sede do Governo da RAEM
Avenida da Praia Grande
Macau
Fax: +853 2872 6168
Email: gce@raem.gov.mo
Salutation: Dear Chief Executive
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
No one sentenced to death receives a fair trial in China. There are also significant gaps between the law, practice and international commitments made by China to uphold international fair trial standards. Many have had confessions accepted despite saying in court that these were extracted under torture; have had to prove themselves innocent, rather than be proven guilty; and have had limited access to legal counsel.
The death penalty is applicable to at least 55 offences in China, including non-violent ones, such as drug-related crimes. Statistics on the death penalty are a state secret but Amnesty International estimates that China executes thousands of people every year and certainly more than the rest of the world combined.
In January 2007, the practice of having the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) review all death sentences was restored. It had been suspended in 1982. All death sentences must now be reviewed by the SPC, which has the power to approve or revise death sentences. The Chinese authorities have reported a drop in executions since the SPC resumed this review but decline to release relevant statistics which remain classified as a State Secret. Legal academics and court officials in China have occasionally been quoting estimating the decrease at between 10-15% each year since 2007. Whilst information on the application of the death penalty remains shrouded in secrecy in China, it is impossible to make a full and informed analysis of death penalty developments in China, or to verify if there has been such a reduction in its use.
China provides no clemency procedures for condemned prisoners after they have exhausted their appeals through the courts.
