PROPOSED AMENDMENTS: Manufacturers would have to obtain a permit to sell imitation guns, and penalties for possessing an improvised firearm would be increased

Taipei Times
Date: Aug 18, 2019
By: Huang Hsin-po and Jonathan Chin  /  Staff reporter, with staff writer

The number of signatories on a petition opposing an amendment to the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act is displayed on the government’s Public Policy Network Participation Platform yesterday.

Photo: Screen grab from the National Development Council’s Public Policy Network Participation Platform Web site

Amendments to the Controlling Guns, Ammunition and Knives Act (槍砲彈藥刀械管制條例) proposed by the National Police Agency (NPA) have sparked a furor among airsoft and re-enactment hobbyists, with thousands of people signing a petition against the changes.

According to the draft amendments published on July 25, the agency aims to restrict imitation guns with a structure or firing mechanism that could be converted into an improvised firearm.

Should the bill pass, manufacturers would be required to obtain a permit to sell imitation guns. Currently they are required only to register their businesses with the government.

Under the bill, the penalties for the possession or modification of an improvised firearm would be increased and the police powers to search would be broadened.    [FULL  STORY]