Minister for Public Security had issued a circular stating that the people’s police were required to study and apply the Convention. Lastly, the Penal Code very clearly stipulated that judicial bodies charged with investigating criminal cases could not base their rulings on evidence obtained by torture or illegal means and that, in the absence of other evidence, no penalty could be handed down. 420. With reference to article 16 of the Convention, the representative of the State party explained that capital punishment was reserved for persons who had committed only the most heinous crimes and its application was subject to extremely strict conditions. During the two-year stay of execution, the convicted person was subjected to reform through labour and his conduct was monitored for signs of successful rehabilitation. The death penalty was therefore carried out only in exceptional cases in which offenders resolutely refused to reform or committed further crimes while in prison. Removal of organs without the permission of either the person or his family was not standard practice. There were, however, cases in which permission had been given to remove organs from the bodies of persons executed. 421. Responding to other questions, the representative of the State party said that reconsideration of the reservation made by China to article 30 of the Convention was under way. Furthermore, the Committee’s views regarding the reservation entered in respect of article 20 would be duly taken into account. 422. Lastly, the representative of the State party drew the Committee’s attention to the fact that a great deal of the material referred to by its members had been supplied by non-governmental organizations, some of which were particularly biased against China. The credibility of such material was therefore questionable. The report of the Special Rapporteur on questions of torture had used the same sources of information and had to be treated with equal caution. China was making valiant efforts to improve its legal system and promote democracy. Any violations of the Convention were merely isolated cases and were not representative of the policy of the Government of China. Conclusions and recommendations 423. The Committee expressed its gratitude for the detailed report submitted by the Government of China, which was in conformity with the Committee’s guidelines, as well as for the explanations provided by the delegation. 424. The Committee took note with satisfaction of the many legislative, judicial and administrative measures which had been adopted by the Government in order to comply with the various provisions of the Convention. The Committee welcomed, in particular, the reforms relating to the Penal Code and the efforts made to raise public awareness through the printing of textbooks used in information, education, training, promotion and protection programmes in the area of human rights. 425. Although the Committee was aware of the obvious difficulties facing China, it expressed concern at the use of administrative detention and the cases of torture alleged and deplored by various non-governmental organizations, in particular in Tibet. It recommended that energetic measures be taken by the authorities to prevent such cases and to punish those responsible and requested precise statistical data concerning the number of persons in administrative detention, sentenced to capital punishment and executed. 426. The Committee also called upon the Government to consider making declarations with regard to articles 21 and 22 of the Convention and withdrawing the reservation entered in respect of article 20 of the Convention. -67-