Guangdong police have promised to ramp up efforts to fight the illegal possession and use of guns and deal with related criminal cases.

He Guifu, director of the Social Security Department under the Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Public Security, yesterday hinted that more special campaigns would be launched to collect illegal guns and ammunition in the near future.

"Such special campaigns have been aimed at ensuring good social order for the province's economic construction and creating a better environment for residents and tourists," He said.

His remarks came as 20,890 illegal guns and 63,243 knives were destroyed in the southern province.

Of these, 7,596 guns and 27,795 knives were disposed of at a large melting furnace at Guangzhou Steelworks on Monday. The rest of the weapons were destroyed in the cities of Shaoguan, Shantou, Jieyang and Zhanjiang. All the guns were seized in 13 cities of the province in the past two months.

"By August 20, Guangdong police had collected 26,836 illegal guns, 136,859 bullets and 63,243 knives since the special campaigns were launched in April," added He.

More than 480 guns were handed over voluntarily by local residents. However, most of the guns and knives were seized from hidden locations when police cracked down on gun crimes in Guangdong, the official added.

He urged local residents to report any crimes to the authorities as police nationwide have launched similar campaigns and have been trying to collect illegal guns and ammunition since April.

In Shanghai, in a series of gun-related cases, police have detained 67 suspects in the past two months. More than 1,100 guns and 2,200 knives have been seized in the city. In Beijing, police have seized 523 guns and 879 fake ones since officers launched a special campaign on June 2. A total of 1,782 knives have also been seized in the Chinese capital.

Police in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region confiscated 3,632 illegal guns and explosives weighing a grand total of 5,609 kilograms between June 5 and August 10.

Efforts will continue nationwide to ensure all guns, knives and explosives possessed illegally are seized and the general public thus made safe.

(China Daily August 23, 2006)