China executes more than 1,000 in crackdown on crime

July 31, 1996
Web posted at: 1:30 a.m. EDT
From Correspondent Andrea Koppel 

BEIJING (CNN) -- China is striking out against crime, in response to rapidly mounting crime rates in recent years.
At least a thousand people have been executed, and thousands more arrested in the past three months, as part of a nationwide crackdown against crime called "Strike Hard."
Since the end of April, hundreds of those considered by China to be the most violent criminals -- and some less so -- have been rounded up and put on trial, for murder, rape, drug dealing and other crimes.
Police raids and the sentencing of criminals who are often led around in chains in front of huge crowds have become a staple of the state-run evening news.
"Such extreme measures are justified because of China's size," researcher Yuan Yue maintained. "Short term, severe measures are the only effective way to get real results."
By severe measures, the Chinese government is not referring to life in prison, but executions.
The human rights organization Amnesty International estimates that in the first two months of the "Strike Hard" campaign, at least 1,000 people faced the firing squad, roughly 18 times more than were put to death in the United States all of last year.
The Chinese government says that crime, especially in its cities, is increasing by between 10 and 30 percent a year.
To understand why, you've only to look around. In the 17 years since economic reform began, the once-more or less classless society has evolved into one full of haves and have-nots. Anger, resentment, and a growing gap between rich and poor are some of the reasons behind a growing frequency in a wide variety of crimes.
Those crimes are now affecting government officials so high up, their safety was believed virtually guaranteed. Last February, Li Peiyao, a high-ranking official in China's parliament, was hacked to death by one of his own guards. The state-run press reported that Li had caught the teenager in the act of robbing him.
The rise in violent crime has frightened the Chinese enough so that citizens who can afford to, hide behind steel doors.
"Since opening and reform began, our society has been stuck with some bad characters, who make money illegally," said Mr. Xia, 40, who owns a security door. "We can't allow people like that to make money off us so we installed this, and we feel that we are safe."
For Mr. Xia and others of his class, peace of mind, in the form of iron bars for the doors and windows, costs about U.S. $100.
It's more than most of China's masses earn in a month, but for Mr. Xia a small price to pay for security.