China shuts websites illegally selling weapons

BEIJING, CHINA: China has shut down several websites that were found to be illegally selling guns and explosives, authorities said Thursday.

The ministry of public security investigated 15 websites, including domestic search engine giant Baidu, resulting in the shutdown of five websites.

The ministry also ordered the deletion of 23,000 online posts containing illegal information, reported Xinhua.

The ministry in August began a three-month crackdown on websites that were illegally selling weapons, vowing to stop domestic websites from trafficking illegal items or providing information on how to manufacture them.

Website administrators have been told to review their sites and delete illegal posts, as well as report illegal content to the police.

Chinese law prohibits civilians from possessing guns, ammunition, explosives and certain types of knives.