The Chinese government is considering abolishing the death penalty for nine crimes that are currently punishable by death under the country's legal system.

The nine crimes are smuggling weapons, ammunition, nuclear materials or counterfeit currency; counterfeiting currency; raising funds fraudulently; arranging for prostitution, or forcing another person into prostitution; obstructing a commander or a person on duty from performing duties; and making up rumors to mislead others during war time, reports Xinhua.

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The proposal to remove capital punishment for the crimes was submitted on Monday to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC). The bi-monthly session runs from Monday to Saturday.

 According to the draft, the maximum penalty for criminals convicted of the nine crimes listed would be life in prison.

If the government adopts the proposal, it will be only the second time that China has reduced the punishment for crimes subject to capital punishment since the country's Criminal Law was enacted in 1979.

In 2011, the NPC Standing Committee ended the death penalty for 13 non-violent economic crimes. This included smuggling cultural relics, or gold and silver; carrying out fraud related to financial bills; forging or selling forged exclusive value-added tax invoices; teaching criminal methods; and robbing ancient cultural ruins.

The proposed amendment to the country's criminal laws is part of an ongoing effort by the Chinese government to gradually reduce the number of executions in the country.  Li Shishi, director of the Legislative Affairs Commission of the NPC Standing Committee, told Xinhua that removal of death penalty for these crimes would not mean the overall punishment would be lessened.

U.S.-based human rights group Dui Hua estimated that 2,400 people were executed in China last year, a 20 percent decline from 2012, and an 80 percent drop from the approximately 12,000 executions in China in 2002.  

TagsChina death penalty, China mulls scrapping death penalty for 9 crimes, Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Li Shishi, capital punishment, Criminal Law