Effective Warnings

The 18,000 spectators in Peking's Capital Stadium hissed and strained their necks as officials tried about a dozen prisoners accused of murder, rape and thievery, then summarily condemned them to death. Less than an hour later, in a field on the city's outskirts, a police firing squad swiftly carried out the sentences.

Last week's mass trial and its grisly aftermath were only the latest in a nationwide crackdown on crime that has resulted in 100,000 arrests and some 5,000 executions since

August. The campaign reflects fears that China's traditionally placid society is threatened by an outbreak of violence, signaled by an upsurge in muggings and sexual assaults.

Most Chinese seem to welcome the government's harsh response. "We must execute one as a warning to a hundred," editorialized one Canton newspaper, the Yancheng Evening News. To make sure there is no misunderstanding about its intentions, the government has been posting photos of executions, like the ones above, throughout the country. The warning seems to be having a chilling effect: criminal cases during September and October dropped by 42% compared with the same period in 1982.