Two convicts were executed by lethal injection Tuesday for the first time in northeast China's Liaoning Province, officials said.
The convicts were executed in a room specially designed for the purpose at the intermediate people's court of this provincial capital.
The court made the disclosure at a press conference here without elaborating on the identities of the convicts, citing the preference of their families.
The death penalty in China is usually carried out by shooting.
The country's amended criminal procedure law in 1997 made executions by lethal injection a legitimate option.
Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province in southwest China, became the first Chinese city to try the new method in March 1998, followed by Wuhan, Shanghai, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Luoyang and other cities.
The new way of execution is cheaper, more efficient and humane,and has been welcomed by convicts as well as their families, court officials said.
China is one of the few countries in the world to adopt lethal injection for executions, together with the United States and others, the officials said.
(Xinhua News Agency November 20, 2001)
