China: Murdering Citizens

Every year, the Chinese state carries out several thousand judicial executions -- more than the rest of the world combined. For the most part, the names of those executed remain secret, known only to their families. All figures about the death penalty, as well as most details about executions, remain classified as "state secrets," part of a deliberate effort by China's rulers to hide from public view the horrifying scale of the country's capital punishment system. [...] China's criminal justice system is also plagued by insurmountable defects. With a conviction rate standing above 99% and a majority of criminal cases tried without a lawyer in the courtroom, the odds of defendants receiving a fair trial are abysmally low. The risks of miscarriage of justice and wrongful executions are exacerbated by a judicial system that is not independent and continues to convict on evidence based on "confessions" -- often coerced or extracted through torture.

Nicholas Bequelin, 'China's deadly secret: More executions than all other countries put together' CNN April 11, 2017

This is the sort of state which our government supports by signing MOUs promising to send them antiquities seized from American collectors. Let us oppose the renewal of such agreements until China fully respects the human rights of its citizens.