Numbers tell the story

Journalists in prison, crimes punishable by death, foreign correspondents arrested – check out how the figures stack up for China.

China in numbers is a rundown from the UK’s Independent newspaper:

• 20: The approximate number of foreign films passed by Chinese censors each year for screening in cinemas. Banned films have included 'Ben Hur' (for its depiction of religion), 'Brokeback Mountain' (for its homosexuality).

• 33: The number of Chinese journalists thought to be held in prisons in 2008.

• 67: The percentage of journalists who replied "no" when asked in a survey by the Foreign Correspondents Club of China if they believed Beijing had kept its promise to give foreign media "complete freedom of reporting" in the run-up to the Olympics. Only 8.6 per cent said "yes".

• 68: The number of crimes thought to be punishable by death in China, including non-violent offences such as tax fraud, embezzlement and the taking of bribes.

• 180: The number of foreign press correspondents arrested or harassed in 2007.

Here’s a few of our own to add:

• 35: The particular article of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China that guarantees freedom of the press - something that doesn't exist in China.

• 470: It's estimated at least this many people were executed in China last year, the true figure is undoubtedly much higher. The Government won’t reveal execution statistics saying they are a state secret.

• 30,000: At least this many Chinese special state Internet police are reportedly monitoring websites, chat rooms and private email.

• 1.25 million: The estimated number of Beijing residents at least who have been displaced by urban development projects, some directly related to the Olympics, according to the Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions.