Illegal guns: booming business & fatal problem

• Source: The Global Times
• [07:41 May 25 2009]
• Comments

“Solving the problem is as difficult as solving the problem of trafficking drugs,” Yu Lingyun, a law professor from Tsinghua University said.

Although we prohibit making guns, the huge profits available and low technology needed make it worthwhile for the criminals, he said.

“It’s a complicated problem. We should strengthen education and strictly control the qualifications for holding guns, he said.

Sporting pastime

The tradition of making and keeping firearms for hunting is strong in many of China’s rural areas, an unnamed insider from the Hainan Public Security Bureau told the Xinhua News Agency.

Today, people can easily find instructions on how to make a gun on the Internet.

On a bulletin board named ‘81tech’, some 30 posts about statistics, techniques and design drawings for firearms are updated every day.

A gun fan surnamed Yu told the Global Times that an “airsoft” gun costs 2,000 yuan and is easy to buy online.

“If you type the phrase ‘airsoft gun’ into a search engine, you’ll find tens of thousands of matches. I use code words to chat with my dealer to evade the Internet police,” he said.

Despite having a zero-tolerance policy on the possession of guns, the government has sanctioned businesses such as the China North International Shooting Range, which is used by military fans and for national defense education..

A member of Xcar club in Tianjin, surnamed Liu, told the Global Times that he takes part in “war games” to relax and hopes to develop the sport as a hobby.

“It’s incredible to hold a gun in your hand and hear the bullet fire,” he said.

“But I totally understand the policy and would never use an illegal gun.”

The shooting range conducts strict checks on customers to prevent the theft of weapons, said a woman surnamed Xu, who works in the marketing department.