Three bullets into his head

"Zhang, male, 23 years. Planned to incite insurrection by setting up an illegal 'China Youth Party'. Execution imminent.
[...]

Chen, male, 27 years. Since June 1979 made frequent plots to leave the country. On 2 october 1981 he stole a fishing boat and, when crossing into Japanese waters, he yelled 'I'm free!' at the top of his voice. A few hours later the tide pulled his boat back across the border into the capable hands of the Chinese naval police. Execution imminent.

Lu, male, 25 years. Held private parties and danced cheek to cheek in the dark, forcefully hugging his female dance partners and touching their breasts. Seduced a total of six young women and choreographed a sexually tittillating dance which has spread like wildfire and caused serious levels of Spiritual Pollution. Execution imminent.
[...]

Public executions take place throughout China in the run-up to National Day. I have grown up reading these death notices and have attended several executions. I once watched an army truck stop, a young man called Lu Zhongjian come out, handcuffed, and two soldiers escort him away. When he started to scream, they slung a metal wire over his mouth and tugged it back, slicing through his face. Then they kicked him to the ground and shot three bullets into his head. His legs flailed and his shoe flew into the air. A year later I married his girlfriend, I only found out they had been lovers when I discovered his death notice hidden at the back of Guoping's drawer."

Ma Jian, Red Dust.


P.D: (the picture used to illustrate this post is entitled Execution, a famous Yue Minjun 's work)