Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-2plfb Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T00:42:38.095Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Public Support for the Death Penalty in China: Less from the Populace but More from Elites

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 June 2020

John Zhuang Liu Open the ORCID record for John Zhuang Liu [Opens in a new window]
John Zhuang Liu*
Affiliation:
Shenzhen Research Institute of Big Data; School of Management and Economics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, China. Email: zhuangliu@cuhk.edu.cn.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article is the first to report the nationwide public support rate for the death penalty in China. Using a national representative sample with 31,664 respondents, it shows that 68 per cent of China's citizens are for the death penalty, while 31 per cent are opposed to it. These numbers suggest that support for capital punishment in China, although strong, is much weaker than in some other East Asian jurisdictions and less than first assumed by commentators. However, contrary to previous notions that public support for the death penalty derives from uninformed popular prejudice, it is the elites in China – i.e. those who receive higher education – who are more in favour of the death penalty. Further empirical analyses suggest that this is not because of political ideology or fear of crime. Rather, the reason is likely that the elites know fewer, and sympathize less with, criminal offenders, who generally come from underprivileged groups. These findings challenge a range of prevailing perceptions of public attitudes to the death penalty in China, especially the culture explanation for the Chinese public's punitiveness, and have important policy implications.

摘要

摘要

本文首次精确测算中国民众的死刑支持率。基于一项全国代表性样本（样本容量为 31,664人），我们发现：68% 的中国民众支持死刑，31% 的民众反对死刑。这一数据表明，虽然中国的死刑支持率较高，但其远低于学界主流观点的判断；中国民众对犯罪与刑罚的态度甚至较部分其他东亚国家和地区民众更为柔和。与通常认识相反，对死刑的支持并不主要来源于一般大众；事实上，中国的精英群体（受教育程度较高的群体）更为支持死刑。进一步的实证分析表明，这一现象并非因为精英群体有着更为保守的政治意识形态，或者其更为担忧犯罪活动对其生活的影响。更为可能的解释是，由于犯罪分子更多来自社会底层，精英群体对他们缺乏接触和了解，进而也缺乏同情。这些发现挑战了以往学界的普遍看法，尤其反驳了以传统文化解释中国民众较高死刑支持率的说法，具有重要的政策意义。

Keywords

support for the death penaltypopulaceeliteseducationsympathypunitive cultureChina死刑支持率大众精英群体受教育程度同情感刑罚惩戒文化中国
Type
Research Article
Information
The China Quarterly , Volume 246 , June 2021 , pp. 527 - 544
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS University of London, 2020

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bae, Sangmin. 2011. “International norms, domestic politics, and the death penalty: comparing Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan.” Comparative Politics 44(1), 41–58.10.5129/001041510X13815229366525CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bakken, Børge. 2008. “The culture of revenge and the power of politics: a comparative attempt to explain the punitive.” Journal of Power 1(2), 169–187.10.1080/17540290802227585CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bakken, Børge. 2011. “China, a punitive society?” Asian Journal of Criminology 6(1), 33–50.10.1007/s11417-010-9086-3CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bakken, Børge. 2013. “Capital punishment reform, public opinion and penal elitism in the People's Republic of China.” In Hood, Roger and Deva, Surya (eds.), Confronting Capital Punishment in Asia: Human Rights, Politics and Public Opinion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 187–204.10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199685776.003.0011CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bakken, Børge. 2014. “The norms of death: on attitudes to capital punishment in China.” In Scherdin, Lill (ed.), Death Penalty: A Hazard to A Sustainable Development of Criminal Justice? London: Ashgate, Ch. 9.Google Scholar
Bobo, Lawrence, and Johnson, Devon. 2004. “A taste for punishment: black and white Americans’ views on the death penalty and the war on drugs.” Du Bois Review Social Science Research on Race 1(1), 151–180.10.1017/S1742058X04040081CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bohm, Robert. 1991. “American death penalty opinion, 1936–1986: a critical examination of the Gallup polls.” In Bohm, Robert (ed.), The Death Penalty in America: Current Research. Highland Heights, KY: University of North Kentucky Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Series, 113–145.Google Scholar
Cao, Liqun, and Cullen, Francis. 2001. “Thinking about crime and control: a comparative study of Chinese and American ideology.” International Criminal Justice Review 11(1), 58–81.10.1177/105756770101100103CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Xingliang. 2003. “Sixing cunfei zhi yingran yu shiran” (The normative and positive perspectives of the abolition and retention of the death penalty). Faxue 4, 39–42.Google Scholar
Chen, Xingliang. 2013. “Sixing shiyong de sifa kongzhi” (The judicial control of the death penalty). Faxue 2, 43–57.Google Scholar
Fu, Hualing. 2015. “Between deference and defiance: courts and penal populism in Chinese capital cases.” In Liang, Bin and Lu, Hong (eds.), The Death Penalty in China: Policy, Practice, and Reform. New York: Columbia University Press, 274–299.10.7312/columbia/9780231170079.003.0010CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallup. 2018. “Death penalty.” Gallup, https://news.gallup.com/poll/1606/death-penalty.aspx. Accessed 10 April 2020.Google Scholar
Gao, Mingxuan. 2004. “Lüetan woguo de sixing lifa jiqi fazhan qushi” (On Chinese legislation on the death penalty and its trends). In Zhao, Bingzhi (ed.), Zhongguo feizhi sixing zhilu tansuo (An Exploration of the Abolition of the Death Penalty). Beijing: Zhongguo renmin gong'an daxue chubanshe, 15–20, 23–30.Google Scholar
Hood, Roger, and Hoyle, Carolyn. 2015. The Death Penalty: A Worldwide Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hough, Mike, Bradford, Ben, Jackson, Jonathan and Roberts, Julian. 2013. Attitudes to Sentencing and Trust in Justice: Exploring Trends from the Crime Survey for England and Wales. London: Ministry of Justice, Analytical Series.Google Scholar
Hsiao, Alison. 2016. “Nearly 90% against abolishing death penalty: poll.” Taipei Times, 22 April, https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2016/04/22/2003644522. Accessed 10 April 2020.Google Scholar
Hu, Yunteng. 2000. Cun yu fei: sixing jiben lilun yanjiu (Retention and Abolition: Studies of the Basic Theories on the Death Penalty). Beijing: Zhongguo jiancha chubanshe.Google Scholar
Jiang, Shanhe, Lambert, Eric, Wang, Jin, Saito, Toyoji and Pilot, Rebecca. 2010. “Death penalty views in China, Japan and the US: an empirical comparison.” Journal of Criminal Justice 38(5), 862–869.10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2010.06.001CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Latzer, Barry. 2018. “Race, crime, and culture.” Academic Questions 31(4), 411–423.10.1007/s12129-018-9730-4CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lei, Xiaoyan, Shen, Yan, Smith, James and Zhou, Guangsu. 2017. “Sibling gender composition's effect on education: evidence from China.” Journal of Population Economics 30(2), 569–590.10.1007/s00148-016-0614-zCrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Liang, Bin, Lu, Hong, Miethe, Terance D. and Zhang, Lening. 2005. “Sources of variation in pro-death penalty attitudes in China: an exploratory study of Chinese students at home and abroad.” British Journal of Criminology 46(1), 119–130.10.1093/bjc/azi048CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liang, Genlin. 2004. “Gongzhong rentong, zhengzhi jueze yu sixing kongzhi” (Public agreement, political choice and control of the death penalty). Faxue yanjiu 4, 15–27.Google Scholar
Nichols, Howard Andrew, and Oliver Schak, J.. 2017. “Degree attainment for black adults: national and state trends.” The Education Trust, https://edtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Black-Degree-Attainment_FINAL.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2020.Google Scholar
Oberwittler, Dietrich, and Qi, Shenghui. 2009. “Public opinion on the death penalty in China: results from a general population survey conducted in three provinces in 2007/2008.” Max-Planck-Institut, http://cesl.cupl.edu.cn/upload/201208245894395.pdf. Accessed 10 April 2020.Google Scholar
Pan, Jennifer, and Xu, Yiqing. 2018. “China's ideological spectrum.” The Journal of Politics 80(1), 254–273.10.1086/694255CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qu, Haiyuan. 2006. “Ezhi fanzui, shengming jiazhi yu sixing: Taiwan minzhong dui feichu sixing de taidu” (Deterring crime, the value of life and the death penalty: public attitudes to the abolition of the death penalty in Taiwan). Taiwan shehui xue kan 37, 133–167.Google Scholar
Research Panel of Shunkan News. 2013. “Survey shows 85.2% of Japanese in favor of death penalty.” Japan Today, 26 February, https://japantoday.com/category/crime/survey-shows-85-2-of-japanese-in-favor-of-death-penalty. Accessed 10 April 2020.Google Scholar
Roberts, Lynne, and Indermaur, David. 2007. “Predicting punitive attitudes in Australia.” Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 14(1), 56–65.10.1375/pplt.14.1.56CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rushton, Philippe, and Whitney, Glayde. 2002. “Cross-national variation in violent crime rates: race, R-K theory, and income.” Population and Environment 23(6), 501–511.10.1023/A:1016335501805CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepherd, Christian. 2018. “Chinese judges make rare defense of death penalty amid Western criticism.” Reuters, 21 December, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-law/chinese-judges-make-rare-defense-of-death-penalty-amid-western-criticism-idUSKCN1OK0E3. Accessed 10 April 2020.Google Scholar
Shi, Yanan. 2017. “Sixing, xianfa yu guojia xueshuo: lun sixing feichu de lilun lujing xuanze” (Death penalty, the Constitution, and the theory of nation: choosing the theoretical approaches to the abolition of the death penalty). Huanqiu falü pinglun 6, 30–50.Google Scholar
Siao, Cheng Syun, Chen, Jhih Sian, Guo, Jian Shen and Jhou, Yu Siang. 2018. “Polling shows 80% of the public oppose the abolition of the death penalty.” China Times, 17 July, https://www.chinatimes.com/newspapers/20180717000504-260106?chdtv. Accessed 10 April 2020.Google Scholar
Soss, Joe, Langbein, Laura and Metelko, Alan. 2003. “Why do white Americans support the death penalty?” Journal of Politics 65(2), 397–421.10.1111/1468-2508.t01-2-00006CrossRefGoogle Scholar
The Death Penalty Project. 2013. “The death penalty in Japan,” 13 March, https://www.deathpenaltyproject.org/knowledge/the-death-penalty-in-japan/. Accessed 10 April 2020.Google Scholar
Unnever, James, Cullen, Francis and Jonson, Lero Cheryl. 2008. “Race, racism, and support for capital punishment.” Crime and Justice 37(1), 45–96.10.1086/519823CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, Lijun. 2014. “Fenqi mihe yu wenhua jiangou: Zhongguo sixing feizhi de biyou zhilu” (Bridging differences and constructing the culture: the only way for China's abolition of the death penalty). Faxue luntan 5, 61–66.Google Scholar
Wang, Yong. 2015. “Chaoyue fuchou: gongzhong yulun, fayuan yu sixing de sifa kongzhi” (Transcending vengeance: public voices, court, and judicial control of the death penalty). Jilin daxue shehui kexue xuebao 7, 66–77, 249–250.Google Scholar
Wu, Xiaowu. 2011. “Zhu Suli tan sixing cunfei wenti” (Zhu Suli on the retention and abolition of the death penalty). Shanghai guozi 7, 101.Google Scholar
Xie, Yu, and Hu, Jingwei. 2014. “An introduction to the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS).” Chinese Sociological Review 47(1), 3–29.Google Scholar
Zhang, Xin, Chen, Xi and Zhang, Xiaobo. 2018. “The impact of exposure to air pollution on cognitive performance.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115(37), 9193–97.10.1073/pnas.1809474115CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zhao, Bingzhi. 2011. “Dangdai Zhongguo sixing gaige de jinzhan yu qushi” (The progress and trend of the reform of the death penalty in contemporary China). Faxue 11, 14–20.Google Scholar
Zhao, Bingzhi. 2014. “Dangdai Zhongguo sixing gaige zhengyi wenti lunyao” (A brief discussion of the controversies over the death penalty reform in contemporary China). Falü kexue 1, 146–154.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Liu supplementary material

Liu supplementary material

Download Liu supplementary material(File)
File 22.5 KB