The Ministry of Public Security launched a campaign across the mainland to confiscate illegal guns on Friday, just one day after a soldier on guard duty in Chongqing was shot dead.
The campaign, first reported on the ministry's website yesterday, appears to be a response to the possibility that the Chongqing shooting was terrorist-related.
The soldier's weapon was stolen after he was gunned down.
This year has several sensitive anniversaries, including the 50th anniversary of the failed Tibetan uprising earlier this month, the 20th anniversary of the bloody crackdown on Tiananmen Square student protests in June and the 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China in October.
Though the anniversary of the failed Tibetan uprising passed without major unrest, media reports have linked the Chongqing shooting with Tibetan pro-independence forces that may seek retaliation against central government rule on the plateau.
There has also been speculation that dissident groups, dissatisfied with the government's handling of the 1989 democratic movement, are trying to create chaos in major mainland cities.