Beijing - China executed at least 89 convicted criminals in one day as part of its nationwide "strike hard" campaign against organised crime, state newspapers reported yesterday.
The executions took place on Wednesday along with mass sentencing rallies nationwide where at least 46 death sentences were handed down, according to accounts in state newspapers.
The one-day tally was one of the highest on record for China, which according to the human rights group, Amnesty International, executes more people annually than the rest of the world combined.
At least 21 criminals were executed in China's southern boomtown of Shenzhen, while 17 were executed in central Zhengzhou, 28 in Guangzhou and 10 in northern Xian, the China Police Daily said. There were also seven executions in north-east Harbin, five in eastern Anhui province and at least one in Shanghai.