discussion during recent years. Criticism International criticism Because of the wide application of capital offenses in Chinese criminal law, substantial use of capital punishment, and the hidden numbers of the execution rate, the Chinese death penalty system has been criticized by many international organizations which make an appeal to ethics and human rights, without always being well informed about the historical and cultural conditions in China. A foreign reporter stated, "China's enthusiasm for capital punishment has long been a target for international criticism of its human rights record." Most of the international criticism stems from the wide scope of capital offenses and the amnesty system. Amnesty International reports that until 2010 among 197 nations worldwide, 96 nations had completely abolished the death penalty, 9 had abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes, and 34 were abolitionist in practice, meaning that they have not executed anyone for at least 10 years and have generally settled on the policy to not sentence any executions. The last wave of international death penalty abolition has been influenced by the process of democratization and has inspired constitutions that protect the right to live. China has ratified more than 200 international covenants in recent decades and has taken on international responsibilities like respecting the right to life and thus limiting the use of capital punishment. When a draft of the Amendment was published in 2010, a foreign reporter commented, "it is believed that the proposed amendment is one of several moves by the Chinese government to soften its image as the world's biggest executioner." According to an Amnesty International report, “available information indicates that thousands of people are executed and sentenced to death in China each year.” Human rights groups and foreign governments have criticized China's use of the death penalty for a variety of reasons, including its application for non-violent offenses, allegations of the use of torture to extract confessions, legal proceedings that do not meet international standards, and the government's refusal to publish statistics on the death penalty. However, the vast majority of death sentences, as acknowledged by both the Chinese Supreme Court and the United States Department of State, are given for violent, nonpolitical crimes which would be considered serious in other countries. International death penalty abolitionist norms and trends have shaped Chinese death penalty practices significantly in recent years. Through international interventions and policies, like the European Union-led campaign against the death