13 crimes removed from death penalty list

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Summary:

The Criminal Law that took effect in 1979 has just received its eigth amendment. 13 economy-related crimes have been removed from the law, in an effor to better protect human rights and to appear in a better light to the rest of the world. Crimes that formerly warranted the death penalty included tax fraud and "fraudulent activities involving financial bills" along with the smuggling of cultural relics and/or rare animals. This ammendment is meant to "temper justice with mercy", according to Lang Sheng, the vice-chairman of the Legislative Affairs Commission. This ammendment was three years in the making because a 2007 Supreme Court decision in China gave the court the ability to approve all not approve all capital punishment cases. Since that decision, 10% of death sentences have been revoked. During the same seesion that yielded the criminal law ammendment, also came laws aimed at energy conservation and the environment. These laws include the Vehicles and Vessels Taxation Law and a Law on Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection. The first will tax 199 million vehicles in China based on their engine output.

Significance:

This is a major step in the right direction, for more reasons than one. The most obvious being that the death penalty is in many cases a remnant of a less developed and even feudal past. There's no place in the modern world for killing someone as punishment for things like tax fraud and it's good that China has realized that. There are still 55 crimes punishable by death that number will most likely continue to dwindle. This ammendment is a great example of international factors influencing policymaking. China knows the eyes of the world are on it and so they're striving to make themselves more appealing, despite being a Communist country. They know they have the potential to be the envy of the world, like the United States now considers itself to be, and they're clearly trying to capitalize on that as soon as possible. The reason for them making the new vehicle tax law may not be for the previously stated reason but the US would be wise to consider something along the same lines.