China Daily: “Death sentence for ex-tycoon fuels debate over private lending, report Li Jing and He Na in Beijing, and Xu Junqian in Zhejiang.
Wu Ying used to be one of the richest women in China. Today the former billionaire is on death row.
In the eyes of many people, particularly the judge who threw out her appeal last month, Wu is a fraudster who swindled her friends and business partners out of 770 million yuan ($122 million).
Yet, others oppose the sentence and say her case highlights a major issue in China: the reliance among small- and medium-sized enterprises on high-interest loans from private lenders.
From loan sharks and underground banks to pawnshops and auction houses, the private lending chain is huge and diverse, according to economists, who blame the situation largely on the struggles experienced by entrepreneurs in getting startup funds through authorized channels.
After 30 years of ongoing reforms, experts are now adding their voices to calls for China’s financial sector to be opened up even further.”
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-02/14/content_14597676.htm
China has reduced the list of crimes for which capital punishment applies from 68 to 55. Even so, many of these are for economic crimes, reminescent of the times (18th century)when European countries would execute or deport these criminals (eg Jean Val Jean of Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables and Mr Micawber of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield). Crime and punishment is cultural. Hence in some Muslin countries adulterers can be stoned to death (or at least the female partner can).
In my personal opinion it is also a facet of developing human consciousnes: the more ‘enlightened’ a society is the less likely will it favour capital punishment.
CHINDIA ALERT: You'll be living in their world, very soon 