Public Security Ministry spokesman Wu Heping on Friday said
China would maintain strict controls on guns, while responding to
the deadly rampage at a US university on Monday.
"I would like to express my deep sympathy and condolences to the
victims of the tragedy in the United States, which claimed the
lives of many young students," said Wu.
Wu said the tragedy also throws into focus gun ownership in
China.
He said strict controls had helped China avoid a US-style "gun
culture", and the rampage had proved that it's necessary to
maintain this policy.
US media reported that more than 30,000 people die from gunshot
wounds in the country annually and there are more guns in private
hands than in any other country.
However in China, gun crime is rare, as private citizens are
forbidden from owning and selling guns.
Wu said the ban aims to wipe out potential danger and protect
the safety of every individual citizen. "If there's no access to
the weapon, people cannot commit a gun crime," he said.
The spokesman added that the US tragedy also reminds education
authorities that they should pay more attention to students' mental
health.
But despite strict controls, illegal guns and explosives are
still traded in China, and Wu said the ministry would continue its
crackdowns.
The ministry launched a national campaign against illegal guns
last year. Official figures show that from last June to September,
police confiscated about 178,000 illegal guns, 3,900 tons of
explosives, 7.77 million detonators and 4.75 million bullets.
Ministry figures also show that more than 3.8 million illegal
weapons have been confiscated in recent years.
Wu said at a press conference last year that although the
production, sale and stockpiling of guns and explosives had been
decreasing nationwide since 2001, the problem was still "severe" in
some areas, such as in Hualong County in northwest China's Qinghai
Province.
In June 2005, criminals Ma Saiyi and Ma Huni were arrested in
Qinghai for the production and sale of more than 100 guns. They
were both jailed for 12 years.
Early last year, police in Southwest China's Chongqing
Municipality also cracked a gun selling case, seizing 45 suspects,
57 guns and 321 bullets.
High profits are deemed the biggest attraction for people who
trade illegal guns, although those found guilty of selling guns or
explosives face punishment ranging from three years in jail to the
death penalty.
"Each gun may generate profits of up to 3,000 yuan (US$375)," Xu
Hu, deputy director of the ministry's public security bureau, said
in an earlier interview. "The money is a huge temptation for
farmers with yearly incomes of less than 1,000 yuan (US$125)."
(China Daily April 22, 2007)