Beijing: China on Friday launched a nationwide campaign to seize illegal guns and explosives, saying the crime situation is getting serious.
The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said the situation of crimes involving guns and explosives in the country is still serious and asked the police nationwide to check all leads so as to seize as many guns and explosives as possible.
Under Chinese law, members of the public are banned from owning firearms and explosives.
The police conducted several campaigns to seize such illegal goods in recent years and successfully contained a growth in crimes involving their use.
From 2009 to 2013, crimes involving guns and explosives dropped by 35 per cent and 25 per cent annually on average, respectively.
In 2013, the number of such crimes fell by 37.9 per cent and 34.2 per cent, respectively, compared to 2012, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The ministry urged all police to monitor online forums to guard against violations involving guns and explosives.
Huang Ming, vice minister of the MPS, said during a video conference that the campaign is an important effort to build a safe China, urging police to address the issues at the source and mobilise more people to join the campaign.
