Chinese police told to use guns lawfully in violent encounters

Police involved in violent incidents on the job should use their guns as the law stipulates so as to ensure their own safety while safeguarding the people's security, Chinese Vice Public Security Minister Huang Ming said on Wednesday.

In a teleconference on a campaign against illegal guns and violence, Huang told public security authorities to strengthen "technical and tactical real-battle exercises and skill training" targeting specific violent crimes and crimes related to guns and explosives.

Police should be fully armored with necessary protective equipment and better their capability for handling emergencies on the spot, Huang said.

Last month, a police officer shot a defiant man dead at a railway station in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province, stirring a national discussion on the legitimacy of the police officer's use of his gun. Later, a procuratorate's investigation into the case justified the firing of the police, who said he had never meant to shoot the man in the heart.

Huang asked police authorities heavily punish criminals producing and trafficking guns and explosives and breakdown the entire crime network .

Meanwhile, police should regularly inspect all sites that are possibly used by criminals for restoring guns and explosives and monitor major online channels to eliminate the source of gun paraphernalia, according to Huang. Endi