Talk:Gun control in China

Manifold errors

This article suffers from numerous errors that I wish to bring to light. Starting from the top:

Section 1

In the People's Republic of China, access by the general public to firearms is subject to some of the strictest control measures in the world.

This is a very strong factual declaration, but the measures in question are never enumerated, nor are they ever compared to the policies of other countries. As it stands, this sentence reads more as opinion disguised as fact. More to the point, the source in question doesn't justify this conclusion without any additional context.

With the exception of individuals with hunting permits and some ethnic minorities, civilian firearm ownership is restricted to non-individual entities.

The first part of this sentence is fine, as it is supported in-text by the source. The exception for "some ethnic minorities", however, does not appear in the source. There's sources listed for the Special Regions that do support the claim, so this is only a source error and not a textual error.

History

Mao Zedong remarked "Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun" in 1927 and 1938, a sentiment that was maintained after winning the civil war.

As it stands this is a non-sequitur. The paragraph is about the history of gun control legislation in the PRC, but the relevance of this quote is merely left implied. In my opinion, if this sentence is to be kept, then the meaning of it in context needs to be explained, and its relevance to gun control policy made explicit. Part of the issue is that it implies a continuity of policy between the Maoist and post-Mao eras, which is simply taken for granted. This paragraph could also suffice with this sentence simply removed.

The country's strict centralized stance on gun control was officially instated in the country in 1966,[4]

Numerous problems here:

1. The source is paywalled. If you keep this source, you should provide a link to it through the wayback machine, which was the only way I was able to check this source.
2. The source is unreliable. I realize that, for whatever reason, secondary sources suffice for Wikipedia's standards. Having read the article, and having failed to verify what was printed in it, I contacted the author, Mr Areddy. Even though he could no longer find the source himself, he assured me that he’s “confident that the first legislation controlling guns in China was as described in the story,” and that if I could not find the source, it was probably because “China has greatly restricted information in recent years.” As it happens, I know for a fact that Mr Areddy is wrong that, in his words, "Gun control was introduced in 1966."
3. Gun control in the PRC began at latest in 1957, and at earliest in 1951.
   1. The People's Police Act of the PRC, passed June 1957, reads:

      Article 5. The responsibilities of the people's police shall be as follows… ( 5 ) To regulate explosives, virulent poisons, guns and ammunition, radio equipment, the printing and casting trades, and the engraving trade in accordance with law. (Jerome Cohen, The Criminal Process in the People’s Republic of China: 1949-4963: An Introduction, page 107).

   2. The Security Administration Punishment Act (SAPA), passed October 1957, includes the following regulations:

      Article 9. A person who commits any one of the following acts interfering with public safety shall be punished by detention of not more than five days, a fine of not more than ten yuan, or a warning: (1) Without government permission, purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition for use in athletic activities, or keeping or using such firearms or ammunition in contravention of safety provisions; (2) Without government permission, making, purchasing, or possessing firearms for hunting or opening a workshop for repairing such firearms; (3) Establishing or using civilian firing ranges in contravention of safety provisions. (Ibid, 217).

   3. According to the Law Library of Congress, which I was unable to verify, but I consider more reliable than Mr. Areddy,

      Provisional Measures Governing the Control of Guns were promulgated by the Ministry of Public Security of the PRC on June 27, 1951… Seven years later, the Temporary Provisions Governing the Control and Use of Guns and Bullets for Sport were adopted, covering all kinds of sport shooting, including hunting. (FIREARMS REGULATIONS IN VARIOUS FOREIGN COUNTRIES, 1990)

4. In all three of the above cases, the regulations on firearms all permitted personal possession of firearms with a permit, which, it seems to me, can only be called a "strict, centralized stance" (vague? what does that mean?) if you believe that just about every nation on Earth, then and now, has a "strict, centralized stance."
5. Not only does the phrase "strict, centralized stance" not clearly follow from the source, but the editor who wrote this sentence and provided this source, one Generallu2, was banned a year later for "Undisclosed paid editing in violation of the WMF Terms of Use"

In summary: better sources reveal that gun control began in the PRC as early as 1951 or as late as 1957. Better phrasing would simply say firearm regulation rather than the vague wording it currently uses.

and extended in 1996 when the government banned the buying, selling and transporting of firearms without official permission. [4][6]

The text is mostly fine as stated, but the sources are questionable and it is missing critical context.

1. Here is a link to a copy of the law in question: https://www.lawinfochina.com/display.aspx?id=1158&lib=law&SearchKeyword=gun&SearchCKeyword=
2. To be more precise, this is the first time in law that civilian firearm permits were completely restricted except for use in hunting and competitive/sport shooting.
3. Context 1: After the cultural revolution ended and Deng Xiaoping became the new leader of the party, a new formalized legal system was established. The Criminal Law of the PRC was issued and promulgated in 1979 (3 years later). Article 100 criminalizes “manufacturing, forcibly seizing or stealing guns or ammunition,” “for the purpose of counterrevolution.” Article 112 further specifies the illegal manufacture and trade of guns (whether or not for the purpose of counterrevolution), but neither of these articles strictly mention possession of guns. Article 163 is the only one that mentions ownership of firearms, and here it only mentions secretly keeping firearms. (Source: https://www.lawinfochina.com/display.aspx?id=3&lib=law&SearchKeyword=gun&SearchCKeyword=#menu0)
4. Context 2: The first "mass shooting" (as we understand it today) in China occurred the previous year, 1995, in the Zhaodong massacre. This event likely precipitated the intensification of the regulation regime.

Finally I'd like to contest the article's "low importance" assessment. Gun control is a highly contentious issue here in America as well as abroad. China is widely used as an example -- both by proponents and opponents of gun control legislation. For this reason I believe accurate information and proper context is critically important and that this articles deserves greater care and attention. RachelNagant (talk) 07:03, 6 May 2024 (UTC)