The annual report from Amnesty International on executions is out and, to no surprise, China leads the list with the US taking fifth place.  To me, this points to a fundamental similarity between the two places, however much nationalists on both sides are now asserting fundamental differences.  Both governments embrace the death penalty in a manner reminiscent of Han Fei Tzu, who said: "The enlightened leader is never over-liberal in his rewards, never over-lenient in his punishments." (20)   What an extraordinarily distorted notion of enlightenment compared to Confucianism and Taoism.

      If anyone wants to argue that China’s number one place in world wide executions distinguishes it morally from the US, just remember that the US takes the number one spot worldwide in incarcerations.   Yes, it might be better to be alive in prison than dead on the execution ground, but American critics would do well to look at their own society and ask why we rely so heavily on imprisonment, before criticizing China on the question of executions.

     It all makes me rather pessimistic.  Why is it that the Humanity of Confucianism – or Christianity, which also tells us to not kill –  gets historically pushed aside by the more brutal and futile (futile in the sense that violence begets violence) Legalism or realism or whatever we want to call it?  Are we, ultimately, incapable of Humane government?  Is there something about us that lead us away from Humanity.  Chuang Tzu denies a common human nature, but he does say this:

Games of skill and cleverness begin in a light mood, but they always end up dark and serious.  And if things go far enough, it’s nothing but guile.  Drinking at ceremonies begins orderly enough, but it always ends up wild and chaotic.  And if things go far enough, it’s nothing but debauchery.  All our human affairs seem to work like this.  However sincerely they begin, they end in vile deceit.  And however simply they begin, the grow enormously complex before they’re over. (55)

      Maybe that is the same for government: it starts out idealistic and sincere but ends up in "vile deceit," the deceit that leads us to embrace strict laws and harsh punishments and reproduce the pessimism and cynicism of Legalism.