29 February 2008 :

China came out with a White Paper spiritedly hailing the Communist nation's achievements in promoting the rule of law asserting it was striding ahead on the road of democracy and opening up a new realm in the development of "human political civilisation".
On the death penalty on which it has often been criticised by human rights bodies, the white paper said in view of the country's situation, "China retains the death penalty in the law, but upholds the policy of killing fewer and with caution".
The country exercises "strict and cautious control" over the use of death penalty to ensure that it is applied only in the most serious cases.