Commenting on the Chinese Government’s announcement that 13 offences would no longer be punishable by the death penalty, Markus Löning, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, issued the following statement today (25 August):

”Reducing the number of capital offences, a decision that was already indicated during the German-Chinese Human Rights Dialogue in July, is a step in the right direction. Specifically, it can help to build greater mutual confidence, also on human rights issues. However, it is not enough: legal proceedings must be more transparent and the number of executions needs to be made public. Of course, the ultimate goal – which the Chinese Government set for itself – is the abolition of the death penalty in the long term. We must continue to remind our partners at all levels of this.“