Handcuffs Photo: CFP

The number of gun and explosive-related crimes nationwide has dropped 25.8 percent year-on-year so far, but the internet has become a major source of gun and explosive crimes, and those involved in online gun and explosive crimes will be held criminally liable according to the law, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said at a briefing on Thursday.
 
In 2023, the MPS, through the established conference mechanism for combating crimes committed with guns and explosive items, and in cooperation with the relevant departments, launched a three-year campaign targeting these crimes, according to the MPS.

According to the MPS, since the beginning of this year, regions and departments have, through a coordinated effort, cracked a batch of cases related to guns and explosives.

Numerous illegal items that could cause gun and explosive-related crimes were seized, eliminating security risks, the MPS said.

Qi Xiguo, deputy head of the public security management bureau under the MPS, said on Thursday that in recent years, there have been people illegally circulating and teaching methods of making guns and explosives on the internet, illegally buying or selling firearm accessories and explosive-making materials, which has led to the internet becoming a major breeding ground for gun and explosive-related crimes. 

The MPS reminded that any units and individuals utilizing the internet to publish information on the production or sale of guns and explosives, teaching measures to produce firearms and explosives, or setting up websites and communication groups for producing or selling firearms and explosives are suspected of violating the law.

Public security authorities will investigate and handle these cases according to the law, and those who constitute a crime will be held criminally responsible in accordance with the law.

In 2023, the total number of criminal cases filed by public security organs nationwide decreased 12.9 percent, and the number of public security cases handled decreased 9.7 percent, compared with 2019. Among them, serious violent criminal cases, including explosions and murders, decreased by 10.7 percent, said Li Guozhong, an MPS spokesperson, in May.

China is one of the countries with the lowest rates of homicide, criminal offenses, and gun-related incidents globally, as the public security situation has remained stable and improved over the past five years, according to the MPS said in May.

Global Times