Tankie is a pejorative label generally applied to authoritarian communists, especially those who support acts of repression by such regimes or their allies. More specifically, the term has been applied to those who express support for one-party Marxist–Leninist socialist republics, whether contemporary or historical.
In an effort to improve cost-efficiency, Chinese provincial authorities are introducing
mobile execution vans in which convicts are given a lethal injection, replacing the traditional
execution method of firing squads.
Eighteen mobile executions vans, converted 24-seater buses, were distributed to all
intermediate courts and one high court in Yunnan province in 2003. In December of the same
year, the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing urged all provinces to acquire execution vans
“that can put to death convicted criminals immediately after sentencing”. The windowless
execution chamber at the back contains a metal bed on which the prisoner is strapped down.
Once the needle is attached by a technician, a police officer presses a button and an automatic
syringe injects the lethal drug into the prisoner’s vein. The execution can be watched on a
video monitor next to the driver’s seat and can be recorded if required.
And I think barsquid's point is that China is keeping their imprisoned-per-capita low through executions. Even if that's incorrect, China does use execution more liberally than the U.S. And execution is evil.