--FILE--Chinese prosecutors stand next to criminal suspects while the judge is declaring convictions at the Intermediate Peoples Court of Chaohu in Chaohu city, east Chinas Anhui province, 14 July 2009. China said Monday (23 August 2010) it is considering dropping death penalty for some economic crimes. A draft amendment to Chinas criminal law proposes cutting 13 economy-related, non-violent offenses from the list of 68 crimes punishable by the death penalty, the Xinhua New Agency said on Monday in a report. It is not known when the draft amendment will become law. The official Xinhua agency said it was submitted for a first reading to the Standing Committee of the National Peoples Congress, the parliament. A draft usually has two or three readings before it is voted on. And, amendment of such significance would need three readings. The website of the NPC confirmed the draft is being considered but did not give any details. Xinhua did not specify which crimes were being dropped from the death penalty list. But sources said the crimes of relic smuggling, or producing fake value-added tax receipts would be taken out from capital punishment. In recent years China has made several changes to how it decides and carries out the death penalty.
