Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

China Executes Ex-Food and Drug Czar

Regulator convicted of taking bribes to compromise food safety

By Greg Atwan, Newser User

Posted Jul 10, 2007 11:44 AM CDT

(Newser) – China carried out a swift death sentence against the former head of its food and drug administration today, in an apparent reaction to concerns about the safety of its exports. Zheng Xiaoyu was killed just over 2 weeks after the supreme court rejected his appeal... Read full story »

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

You need to Log in to Newser to comment. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now!

There are no comments

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

What's Popular Now on Facebook

Cops Shoot Naked Guy Eating Man's Face on Highway

Japanese Artist Serves Up Own Cooked Genitals

New York Times (Source Grid »)

Coverage from the Chinese state-run press
Xinhua (China)

China's push to improve food safety
Wall Street Journal

China's push to improve public relations
Wall Street Journal

On China's death penalty and Supreme Court oversight
International Herald Tribune

Another regulator sentenced to death
Washington Post

China • Zheng Xiaoyu • capital punishment • China food exports • death sentence

More Newser Stories

China Sentences Ex-Drug Chief to Death

Bribery conviction signals pharmaceutical industry crackdown

(NEWSER) - China's former top food and drug watchdog was sentenced to death today after being convicted of corruption and dereliction of duty. In the midst of an international uproar over food and pharmaceutical standards, the government found that Zheng Xiaoyu, 63, who was forced out in 2005, accepted more than $850,000 in bribes to approve questionable drugs and medical licenses. More»

US World's No. 5 Executioner: Amnesty

Executions surge in Middle East

(NEWSER) - Fewer countries than ever are executing people, but those countries are doing so with gusto, according to a new report from Amnesty International. Just 20 nations still use the death penalty. The US executed 43 people last year, making it 5th globally, and the only Western democracy on the list, the AP reports. “If you look at the company we're in globally, it's not the company we want to be in: China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq,” said the executive director of Amnesty International USA. More»

China's Execution Show Axed After West Takes Notice

China's Interviews Before Execution spoke to hundreds of doomed inmates

(NEWSER) - Hit Chinese TV program Interviews Before Execution has been abruptly canceled—after five years on the air and just about a week of attention from the West. The show, which reached 40 million viewers every Saturday night, featured glamorous host Ding Yu speaking to condemned criminals days, hours, or even just minutes before their execution. Officials at China's Legal TV say the show, which just started popping up in Western press for the first time in advance of a BBC documentary on the show that aired last night, has been axed because of "internal problems," ABC reports. More»

New Death Sentences Hit 35-Year Low

Just 78 sentenced this year: new report

(NEWSER) - The number of death sentences handed down this year dropped 30% compared to last, hitting the lowest level in 35 years, according to a new report. Just 78 people were sentenced to death this year—marking "the first time we've had fewer than 100 new death sentences in a year in the modern era of capital punishment," says the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, the nonprofit behind the report. In addition, 43 people were executed, compared to 46 last year, the Wall Street Journal reports. More»

China Drops Death Penalty for Tax Evasion

Along with a dozen other non-violent crimes

(NEWSER) - China has eliminated the death penalty as a possible punishment for 13 non-violent offenses, the AP reports. But critics say it probably won't make a big dent in the estimated 5,000 annual executions in the country—nearly 70 crimes still carry a possible death sentence, many of them non-violent. Among the offenses no longer in the capital punishment category: forging invoices to avoid taxes and smuggling cultural relics out of the country. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

China Executes Ex-Food and Drug Czar

Regulator convicted of taking bribes to compromise food safety

China • Zheng Xiaoyu • capital punishment • China food exports • death sentence

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

China Sentences Ex-Drug Chief to Death

Bribery conviction signals pharmaceutical industry crackdown

US World's No. 5 Executioner: Amnesty

Executions surge in Middle East

China's Execution Show Axed After West Takes Notice

China's Interviews Before Execution spoke to hundreds of doomed inmates

New Death Sentences Hit 35-Year Low

Just 78 sentenced this year: new report

China Drops Death Penalty for Tax Evasion

Along with a dozen other non-violent crimes

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?