Recommendations The use of the death penalty in China has an impact well beyond its borders. Its use undermines the dignity of everyone caught up in a process that undermines the right to life. There is a special obligation on countries that have abolished the death penalty and ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR to challenge China’s use of the death penalty. Public information China cannot claim overwhelming support for the death penalty unless it provides everyone with the right to information on how the death penalty is used and the alternatives. The international community should support activities in China, and among Chinese, that raise awareness of capital punishment and challenge its use. Drug crime The argument that drug crime does not fall into the category of “most serious crime” and should, therefore, not attract the death penalty, falls on deaf ears in China and many other retentionist countries in Asia. There is an urgent need to shift the perception of drug crime as a national security issue towards the right to health. This should be addressed on an Asia-wide basis and with the support of civil society. At the same time, China should introduce tighter sentencing guidelines for the use of the death penalty in drug crime cases. The disproportionate impact of drug crime and the death penalty on women and the poorest should be acknowledged by the Supreme People’s Court and lower courts encouraged to consider a broad range of mitigating circumstances in sentencing. Unfair Trials Unfair trials in China are a matter of growing concern to the international community. This is an issue that goes well beyond the use of the death penalty. As some countries issue travel advisories about the risk of arbitrary detention in China, there is a need to broaden participation in this debate to include the business community and a wider civil society. The introduction of the Hong Kong National Security Law has highlighted the need for openness and accountability in the Chinese criminal process. International stakeholders should use every opportunity to press for greater transparency and accountability in every aspect of judicial proceedings in China. Role of Lawyers Defence lawyers offer those facing the death penalty some protection from unfair trials. The international legal community should be more forthright in calling on China to allow the development of an effective and independent legal profession. Better resourced and higher quality legal aid would help to mitigate some of the unfairness in the use of the death penalty. Transparency The international community must continue to challenge China’s secrecy over the use of the death penalty. There is a particular need for transparency with respect to the two-year suspended death sentence. Information on how many of these cases result in execution, and for what reason, is essential. While greater use of this alternative to immediate execution is welcome, the sentence is still a death penalty and places, probably, hundreds of prisoners and their families, each year, under the 59