China plans to scrap death penalty for 9 crimes: Xinhua

BEIJING: China's legislature is considering cutting nine crimes from the list of 55 punishable by death, state media said Monday, including illegal fundraising which has been at the centre of several controversial cases.

The country executes more people than the rest of the world combined, rights groups say. But a draft amendment to reduce the scope of capital punishment was submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, China's rubber-stamp legislature, the official Xinhua news agency reported.