China to scrap death penalty on some non-violent crimes

China's National People's Congress will this week consider an amendment to the nation's criminal law that will take 13 offences off the list of 68 crimes now punishable by death.

According to Amnesty International, China executes more people each year than the rest of the world put together, but the exact number remains a closely guarded state secret.

Most executions are carried out for violent crimes such as murder and robbery, the China Daily reported last month, but drug trafficking and some corruption cases also are punishable by death.

Crimes that may become exempt from capital punishment include tax fraud, smuggling of cultural relics, precious metals and rare animals.

Of the 68 current capital crimes in China, 44 do not involve violent acts.

The draft amendment will also aim to forbid the death penalty against convicted criminals aged 75 years or more, the China News Service said.

In a report earlier this year, Amnesty said the number executed in China was "believed to be in the thousands", compared with 2009's second-ranked executioner Iran, which the rights group said carried out at least 388 last year.

Firing squads have traditionally been used in Chinese executions, however in recent years the state has increasingly adopted lethal injections.

The amendment will be read during this week's session of the parliament's standing committee, its key law-making body.

Draft laws are typically read several times before being adopted.