China toughens controls on illegal guns and explosives ahead of Lunar New Year

China’s police are cracking down on illegal guns and explosives ahead of the Lunar New Year festival and the annual session of parliament, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported today.

The campaign to “eliminate public security risks linked to guns and explosives” was launched yesterday and will run to the end of March, it reported.

The possession of guns by private individuals is illegal in China.

Lunar New Year is on February 19 this year, while China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress, meets each year in early March.

The Ministry of Public Security said that crime related to guns and explosives fell by 3.6 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, last year.

However, online purchases of guns and explosives and their delivery by courier services had become a “prominent issue”, Huang Ming, deputy minister of public security, was reported as saying by Xinhua.