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I see, and I agree. I wouldn't kill anyone, either. But that's a purely ethical and emotional thing, and really has no rational explanation. It's just the way we have been educated.
Apparently the Chinese government doesn't agree. And I can certainly see their side of the argument. It's a poorly defined optimization problem to begin with, and we are just optimizing for different things.
We want fairness and freedom, they want to save people. Whether we agree or not, I don't think we should talk about them so harshly as if they are just blood-seeking monsters trying to kill as many people as possible for their pleasure.
What are other people's opinions?
Once we get this ethical question out of the way, we have essentially simplified the question down to, if what they are doing is the best way (and consider alternatives).
Well, from a cultural standpoint, I think it definitely makes sense. Everyone has their own perceptions about the nature of life and death. When I was a young boy I remember being rather horrified by the "Samurai Ethic" in the movies that were popular back in those days. Taking a life (even one's own) seemed almost a mere symbolic gesture. From the perspective of my own culture, that sort of behaviour would be nothing short of ruthless - cold, calculating, and evil. But in time I realized that there were more fundamental principles at work - altruism, courage, serenity, etc. I think that there's a similar dynamic at work here. People outside of that culture have a hard time understanding, but that's just the way it is. It isn't invalid simply because we don't 'grok' it.