Suspended death penalty

Don't you wish the Chinese took product safety as seriously as they do corruption.

Beijing's former Vice Mayor Liu Zhihua was sentenced to death for taking bribes but was given a two-year reprieve, Chinese official media reported Sunday.

According to a report carried by the China Daily, the sentence was handed down Saturday by the Hengshui Intermediate People's Court in Beijing's neighboring Hebei Province.

The court found that Liu, 59, and his mistress Wang Jianrui pocketed a total of about 6.97 million yuan ($1.02 million) when Liu was vice mayor of Beijing from 1999 to 2006, during which time he oversaw various projects around the city, including construction projects for the 2008 Olympics.

It said Liu abused his power to get contract projects and loans, while he offered promotions for others in exchange for benefits.

So Mr. Liu will get to live two years knowing he'll be executed. I don't know if that is a sign of mercy or not to the former vice mayor.