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Replica guns, bayonets give military a real headache

A military official explains the difference between genuine and replica guns during a press conference yesterday. PHOTO: YEH CHIH-MING, TAIPEI TIMES

The Ministry of National Defense yesterday said that replica guns seized by police recently at a Kaohsiung flea market had been mistaken by the press for actual weapons, casting doubt on the ability of the military to account for its munitions.

"The military has exercised considerable care with its gun supply. No guns have been lost. What Kaohsiung police found recently were fake guns," ministry spokesman Major General Huang Suei-sheng (黃穗生) said.

"The press thought the fake guns were real and reported this without consulting us," Huang said.

"The reports have tarnished the image of the military," he said.

Huang made the remarks yesterday at a regular ministry press conference, where army officials showed a variety of replica guns available locally -- and legally -- ranging from handguns and rifles to machine guns, which looked virtually identical to real weapons, complete with mock ammunition.

The officials also released a list of 69 military surplus stores across the country that sell the replica guns.

"A fake gun, even if modified, will explode while firing an actual bullet. Its chamber can't stand the firing of real ammunition."

Lieutenant Colonel Chen Ta-yi, a weapons instructor at the army's Kaohsiung infantry training facility

Most of the stores are concentrated in the northernmost and southernmost parts of the country. They sell military paraphernalia such as badges, hats, camouflage uniforms, boots and other items catering to young people who like to masquerade as soldiers or play paintball or skirmish.

Huang said the replica guns available in the market were so realistic that sometimes it was very difficult for civilians to distinguish them from real ones.

"I have been in the service for many years, but even I might not be able to tell a fake gun from a real one at first sight. The replica M1-carbine, for instance, has fooled me in the past -- and I've used the gun before," he said.

Despite the close resemblance of the replica weapons, army officials who attended yesterday's press conference assured reporters that fake guns could not be readily modified to become real weapons.

"A fake gun, even if modified, will explode while firing an actual bullet. Its chamber can't stand the firing of real ammunition," said Lieutenant Colonel Chen Ta-yi (陳大義), a weapons instructor at the army's Kaohsiung infantry training facility.

Another replica weapon that the army displayed at the press conference was the bayonet -- with various types on show. These items, however, were capable of inflicting serious injury.

An army official speaking privately said there was no law to restrict the sale of replica guns or bayonets.

"Fake bayonets are not restricted from sale, possibly because they aren't as dangerous as pocket or kitchen knives, which people use on a regular basis," the official said.
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