Five Taiwanese executed in China for drug crimes

China has executed five convicted drug dealers from Taiwan, among at least 49 dealers and traffickers executed in the run-up to the UN-sponsored international anti-drugs day yesterday, Chinese media said.

The five Taiwan citizens were executed on Monday after a public sentencing rally in the port city of Xiamen, Fujian Province, the media reported.

Police seized 250kg of methamphetamine, commonly known as "ice," when they arrested Hsu Yao-tsai (許耀彩), 33, from Kaohsiung, in February of last year, the agency said.

Hsu was executed for producing "ice" in Fujian, after moving his operations from neighboring Guangdong Province in 1999.

Police caught Hsu when he shot at one of his accomplices while he was high on the drug, the agency said.

Hsieh Hsien-hui (謝憲輝), also from Kaohsiung, was executed for attempting to traffic heroin from Xiamen to Taiwan by boat in 1999, it said.

Another Taiwan citizen, Chen Chun-hsiung (陳俊雄), was convicted of attempting to sell 10kg of "ice" in a McDonald's fast food restaurant in Xiamen.

Wu Wen-ching (吳文靜) from Xiamen was executed with the five from Taiwan, after he was convicted of conspiring with Xie to traffic heroin, the agency said.

At least 30 drug dealers were executed nationwide on Monday, according to cases reported so far by state media, with more executions scheduled for yesterday.

Chongqing City in southwest China executed 18 drug traffickers, while Changsha, capital of the southern Hunan Province, executed one trafficker.

The Supreme People's Court approved the immediate execution on Monday of five people, including one Myanmar citizen, who were convicted of involvement in major drug-trafficking cases in three areas.

In other cities in southwest China, 10 drug dealers were executed in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and nine more were executed last Thursday in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi region.