The other side of the story is guns are increasingly popular in China. There is a thriving black market in many types of guns. Consider the excerpt above. A criminal penalty is only exacted if more than 200 non-military cartridges or 1,000 air-gun pellets are possessed. 200 cartridges for a hunting gun can be several years supply, perhaps a lifetime's worth for big game hunting. I did not find the definition of a “military cartridge”. Non-military likely includes .22 rimfire and shotgun shells with birdshot. It may include some centerfire rifle cartridges.
In the United States, the District of Columbia has more draconian penalties. Only people with specific licenses from the District of Columbia are allowed to have ammunition. Those that have registered firearms are allowed to only have ammunition for that particular firearm. A single cartridge can result
in a fine of up to $1,000 and a year in jail.
Until 1981,
hunting rifles in China were not required to be registered! In 1981, registration of hunting rifles was required, but most people in China, over the age of 18, were allowed to own two hunting rifles! In 1996, the law was changed to make it very difficult for almost anyone to legally own a gun. Common air rifles, which had not been considered guns, were defined as guns by a change in the law.
This does much to explain the large numbers of illegal guns the
Small Arms Survey estimated to exist in China. China has the third largest number of privately held firearms in the world, at nearly 50 million! Only 1.4 percent of those are registered. Apparently, most of the guns owned before 1981, were not registered, and most were not turned in in 1996. The Tiananmen Square protests and massacre occurred in 1989.
Education and industrialization in China have been increasing. The
Small Arms Survey reports that craftsmen in the Songtao Miao Autonomous County in Guizhou province make black market semi-automatic pistols for about $45 each. In the coastal cities, they sell for about $1500. There is a thriving black market in guns in China.
From jamestown.org:
China’s expanding underground gun trade is the byproduct of the state’s struggle with market forces. The state fears an armed populace, but a strict ban on gun ownership has only created a black market where the wealthy and well-connected can still buy guns with ease. With the growth of the Chinese economy, the gun trade will continue to expand in response to rising demand from a population with money to spend and an appreciation for weapons stemming from its culture and history. Currently, the gun ban is unlikely to be lifted, yet it is necessary for the Chinese state to recognize the unintended consequences of the ban, and how it allocates guns disproportionately into the hands of black society syndicates that constitute a threat to the livelihood of law abiding citizens, a phenomenon that will have long-lasting negative consequences for social stability.
