Since the start of April thousands of Chinese have taken part in public gatherings after which the condemned men and women have been led away to be shot in the back of the head. Sometimes the families of the dead get the bodies of their loved ones back, once they have paid for the bullet. That is only the tip of the iceberg.
Police are under orders to step up the number of arrests.
Overflowing courts, trying to keep step with orders, are speeding up sentencing, with heavier punishments being handed out. Although about 60 crimes carry the maximum death penalty, many of them non-violent crimes, the crackdown has led to a simplification of the legislation, said Amnesty International. Defendants desperate to mitigate their sentences can win some clemency from the courts if they turn state's evidence against other defendants, which in turn could make their testimony seriously tainted. In previous strike-hard campaigns, quotas were imposed forcing the authorities in each province to put to death a given number of suspects, said Baber. Local cadres, keen to advance through the ranks, often participated with great zeal.