The Ministry of Public Security has said that a series of deadly
blasts has prompted them to crack down on illegally stored
explosives, tightening control over the materials used to make
them.
"A large-scale campaign is underway across the nation to stamp
out the illegal production, purchase and sale, transportation and
storage of explosives and guns," said Xu Hu, deputy director of the
ministry's Public Security Bureau.
He said that, though there was widespread and legitimate demand
for explosives such as in the mining and fireworks industries, some
were exploiting legal loopholes to stockpile caches of dangerous
material at home or in other places perilously close to
communities.
The announcement was in reaction to the latest deadly blast in a
village in central China's Henan
Province on Monday evening, which killed 14 and injured
five.
Last March, a similar accident killed 12 and injured 10 in the
northern province of Shanxi.
Police later found two tons of explosives stored in an old
temple.
Farmers use fertilizers which contain large amounts of ammonium
nitrate to make explosives. The race for quick profits is causing
the often careless and lethal storing of highly explosive
materials, according to experts.
"Ammonium nitrate is an important content of fertilizer used in
rural areas," said Wang Xinjian, a professor from the Chinese
People's Public Security University. He said explosives can be made
by mixing ammonium nitrate with diesel oil and other easily
available materials.
Legal experts said additional legislation is needed to
consolidate laws and regulations against fireworks factories and
the misuse of fertilizer.
Guo Fuxuan, a procurator in Beijing, said the illegal possession
or storage of "a single non-military gun" would violate the
criminal law, and suggested similar punishments for those who
illegally possess or store explosives.
(China Daily May 13, 2005)