국제앰네스티는 중국의 사형제도 개혁이 사형집행횟수에 특별한 영향은 주지 않을 것이라고 경고했다.
중국정부는 월요일 신화통신을 통해상정된 형사법 개정이 사행을 규정하고있는 68개 범죄항목 중 13가지를 삭제할 것 이라고 전했다. 이 수정안은 현재중국 의회에 의해 검토되는 중이다
국제앰네스티 캐서린 베이버 (CatherineBaber) 아시아•태평양국 부국장은 “우리는 중국의 실질적 사행집행을 줄이는 어떠한 개혁도 환영하지만 이 수정안이 현상황에 큰 영향을 줄 것이라고 믿지 않는다”라며, “중국정부가 이 수정안이 최근 몇 년간 사형집행으로 직접 이어지지 않았던 항목들을 삭제하는 단순한 법률적 개정이 아니라는 구제적인 자료를 보여주길 원한다”라고 밝혔다.
현재 중국정부는 사형집행에 관련된 수치를 국가기밀로 규정하고 있기 때문에 이 수정안이 어떠한 변화로 이어질지는 알 수 없다. 국제앰네스티는 중국정부가 사형집행에 관련된 자료들을 공개하여 투명한 분석과 논의가 이루어 질 수 있도록 요구하고 있다. 
PROPOSED CHINA DEATH PENALTY REFORMS MAY HAVE NO GREAT IMPACT ON EXECUTIONS
23 August 2010Amnesty International has warned that proposed reforms of China’s application of the death penalty may not result in significantly fewer executions.
Chinese government news agency Xinhua reported on Monday that proposed amendments to China’s criminal code may see the death penalty removed from 13 out of 68 crimes that currently carry the punishment.
The draft amendments are working their way through numerous readings in China’s legislative chamber.
“Although we would welcome any reform that would in practice decrease executions in China, we are not yet convinced that these legal revisions will have a significant impact,” said Catherine Baber, Amnesty International’s Deputy-Director for the Asia-Pacific programme.
As part of its campaigning against the death penalty, Amnesty International has called on China to reduce the number of capital crimes.
“We are still waiting for the Chinese government to release the data that shows these proposed revisions are more than just legal housekeeping, removing crimes which have seldom been punished with the death penalty in recent years,” said Catherine Baber.
The draft amendment to China’s criminal code would, if passed, reportedly remove the death penalty as a punishment for white collar crimes such as tax fraud, and for smuggling valuables and cultural relics.
It would also remove the death penalty as a punishment for those over 75 years of age.
The ultimate impact of any reforms to China’s use of the death penalty cannot be publicly known and evaluated due to classification of execution figures as state secrets.
Amnesty International has called on the Chinese government to make the draft legislation and the national execution figures public, so that there can be transparent analysis and debate on the death penalty.
In a challenge to China’s lack of transparency, Amnesty International declined to publish its own minimum figures for Chinese executions and death sentences in its worldwide annual report this year on the death penalty.
China is estimated to be the world’s biggest executor.
Amnesty International said it opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception, as the ultimate violation of human rights.
