Death penalty proposal meets opposition

Draft amendment would remove capital punishment for 13 crimes

BEIJING - A proposal to abolish the death penalty for 13 economic crimes is facing opposition from some members of the National People's Congress (NPC) Standing Committee as legislators began reviewing the eighth draft amendment to the Criminal Law earlier this week.

"Economic crimes are on the rise in China at the moment. So it might not be a good time to abolish capital punishment for such crimes, especially those that have a negative social effect," said Cong Bin, an NPC Standing Committee member and professor at the Hebei Medical University, during a group discussion.