中華民國國防部 國防法規資料庫

This is based on Item 2, Article 1 of Firearms Management Act for Self-Defense of Servicemen.

The self-defense firearms (ammunition included) involved in the regulations are:
1.Type A: All handguns are included.
2.Type B: All hunting guns, air guns, spear guns and practicing guns that are to defense are involved, but hunting guns that are remolded from rifles are not in the list of hunting guns.
Servicemen can own only one defensive gun in each type. A family cannot have more than two guns according to each type. Fifty bullets or less are attached in every kind of guns in type A.

The guns are managed by the service department. Servicemen who own defensive guns are under the investigation of the Security Division of all levels. After the examinees are qualified, the guns will be examined and registered by related department, and gun licenses will be distributed.
The examination and registration organization mentioned above is Military Police Command of the Ministry of National Defense.

Qualifications of Servicemen holding defensive guns are as following:
1.Generals/Admirals on service who are capable of using defensive guns are qualified to have guns belonging to type A.
2.Volunteer officers on service who are sane and without bad records are qualified to be equipped with guns in type B.
Servicemen on compulsory service and voluntary soldiers will be not equipped with defensive guns while on service. However, servicemen on compulsory service who have guns legally before on service are allowed to keep them after registering by the police organization.
Servicemen who are demobilized, retired or stopped the service due to external assignment should exchange the licenses according to Firearms Management Act for Self-Defense of Servicemen.

Management organizations of servicemen defensive guns (brief as management organization) are as following:
1. Army Command of the Ministry of National Defense.
2. Navy Command of the Ministry of National Defense.
3. Air Force Command of the Ministry of National Defense.
4. other directly subordinate agencies under the Ministry of National Defense.

The regulations of serviceman applying for defensive gun are as following:
1. Serviceman applying for the license of defensive gun ought to submit application form with two recent two-inch, hat-off, half-length portraits, and warrants by two servicemen of higher rank or the same rank, to be examined and approbated by management organization. And then, all documents with pictures of the gun (on both surfaces) in two copies are transferring to examination and registration organization for distribute gun license.
2. The examination and registration organization ought to examine cautiously while receiving application of the gun license. If any situation violates the Article 4, the license is not distributed, and that firearms or ammunition are confiscated or purchased by the police organization according to the law. If the application is qualified, the gun license will be distributed. The management organization will collect the gun and ammunition according to appointed time and location, and the examination and registration organization will send people to examine them. If the gun is of rare kind, the organization will dispatch it to the examination and registration organization for examining.

The examination and registration organization ought to put serial number of the legalized defensive gun in computer for information management, and print the latest changing list of serial numbers to submit to the Ministry of National Defense for reference.

The gun license is renewed every two years. The exchange should be completed one month before the expired date (before December). Each management organization ought to prepare two copies of inventories for license renewing in terms of guns in type A and B (see the attached file) and two two-inch, hat-off, half-length portraits of license owner along with the original pictures of gun to be examined to the examination organization.
(Note: See page 6216 in Compendium of Current Laws and Regulations in the Republic of China, May, 1994 for the attached files.)

The serviceman who holds defensive gun should obey the following rules when there are changes in personnel matters:
1. When serviceman who holds the defensive gun is transferred or receives training, the management organization should send an inventory to new management organization for taking over the gun, and an copy to the examination and registration organization for reference.
2. When serviceman who holds the defensive gun is transferred or receive training abroad, his gun is under acting custody by management organization.
3. When serviceman who holds the defensive gun is demobilized, retired or stopped the service due to external assignment, the management organization should send an inventory to the police organization of the registered permanent residence for taking over. The management organization should also inform the serviceman himself to apply an exchange for civil license to police organization within one month after he receives the notification. The gun license becomes invalid one month after the serviceman leaves the military service, and is revoked by the police organization and destroyed by the examination and registration organization.

When the serviceman who holds the gun is dead, his family informed by management organization should hand in his gun to the police organization of his registered permanent residence in terms of the Firearms Management Act for Self-Defense of Servicemen. The police organization ought to inform the examination and registration organization of the processing situation to nullify the registration of the gun.

When the serviceman runs away or disappears, his defensive gun, ammunition and gun license will be taken over by the management organization and sent to the examination and registration organization for reference.

When the serviceman who holds the gun is detained or under custody, his defensive gun will be under acting custody by the management organization, and be processed in terms of the following situations:
1. When the serviceman is sentenced to life imprisonment for certain his gun should be purchased by local government in one month and be nullified its license by the examination and registration organization. The revoked price is made by the local government, and is ratified by Ministry of Interior.
2. When the serviceman who holds the gun is notified by edict to be innocent, free from punishment, lawsuit, arrestment, and fine or to be non-prosecuted for sure, the defensive gun should be returned.

When the serviceman loses his gun, he should report the situation to local military police and police organizations immediately, and send the report receipt and newspaper declaration to the management organization in three days for transferring to the examination and registration organization. If only the gun license is lost, he should immediately post the information on the newspaper to declare the nullification and carry the newspaper to the management organization for transferring to the examination and registration organization to reissue gun license.

If there is increase or consumption of the ammunition, the serviceman ought to describe explicitly the source or the reason in three days, and bring the ammunition or shells to the management organization for transferring to the examination and registration organization.

The serviceman who holds the gun will be punished for the following situations, and will be sent by management organization to the governed military or judiciary organizations to prosecute, if he is involved in the criminal litigation.
1. The serviceman who lost the gun and did not report to the police or the management organization will at least be recorded a demerit.
2. The serviceman who lost the gun license and did not immediately declare its nullification and apply for the reissue will at least be reprimanded by management organization.
3. The serviceman whose ammunition was increased or consumed without the examination will at least be recorded a demerit. The increased ammunition ought to be confiscated.
4. The serviceman who privately resold or gave it away to others will be recorded a major demerit. The firearms and ammunition he has will be confiscated by the police organization and the gun license will be nullified by the examination and registration organization.
5. The serviceman who lent the gun to others will be recorded a major demerit.
6. The serviceman who refused or escaped from the investigation without reasons will at least be recorded a demerit by the management organization.
7. The serviceman whose gun license has expired one month without renewing for no peculiar reasons will at least be reprimanded by the management organization, and also has to exchange the license immediately. If the holder had no intention to keep the gun, it is allowed to be purchased.
8. The serviceman whose gun isn't with the license will at least be reprimanded by the management organization.
9. The serviceman who wrote over the gun license or changed the number of the gun or the amount of the ammunition will at least be recorded a demerit by the management organization. The source of the firearms and ammunition will be traced.
10. The serviceman who gained the defensive gun license by a public gun will be punished in terms of law.
The firearms and the ammunition ought to be confiscated when the serviceman severely violates the preceding article 5, 6 or 9.

The warrants of the serviceman who holds the gun should immediately report to the police organization when they discover that the use of the gun is probably damaging social security. If the warrants knew but without reporting the event, they would at least be reprimanded by the management organization.

The regulations for acting custody of the defensive guns are as follows:
1. Application for acting custody: the gun will be under acting custody by the management organization when the holder is facing with one of the following situations:
(1) The serviceman leaves the troop on official business.
(2) The serviceman leaves the troop to receive training.
(3) The serviceman is to seek medical treatment.
(4) The serviceman has no proper place to put it under custody.
2. Orders to acting custody: when the gun holder is recognized by the management organization to face one of the following situations:
(1) The serviceman is mentally disordered.
(2) The serviceman is of brutalized disposition.
(3) The serviceman behaves badly in ordinary life.
(4) The gun is under inappropriate custody, and the serviceman is suspect of endangering to public security.
3. Temporary acting custody: the management organization should inform the holder of temporary acting custody of the gun actively or by the information of the examination and registration organization when the country has important ceremonies, a visiting president of other nations, special demand of the police or other needs for the assurance of social security.
The management organization should inform the holder in written form for executing acting custody according to Subparagraph 2 and 3, preceding Item. The management organization should both purchase the gun and inform the examination and registration organization of nullifying the license when the holder did not send the gun to be under custody before the deadline. The management organization should give the holder a receipt when it carries out the acting custody according to Item 1. After the situation causing the acting custody diminishes, the gun will be returned in terms of the receipt.

The regulations of drafting defensive guns are as following:
1. According to the orders of the Ministry of National Defense.
2. During war time.
3. The management organizations are going to collect the guns and send them to be taken over and under custody by the nearest Combined Maintenance Facility of Army, and then are given the receipt according to the regulations for acting custody of the defensive guns.
4. The Combined Maintenance Facility of the Army shall report to the Ministry of National Defense in two weeks after taking over the guns, and custody cautiously, then wait for the orders of the Ministry of National Defense to distribute or return the guns.

The firearms or the ammunition under acting custody by the management organization will be sent to the newly management organization when the serviceman is transferred or receives training, or will be sent to the police organization of the holder's registered permanent residence in terms of the Firearms Management Act for Self-Defense of Servicemen when the holder is demobilized, retired or stopped the service due to external assignment.

The defensive guns of the servicemen will be under overall investigation by the management organization every year. The additional investigation is practiced when needed. The main points of the overall investigation are of Article 15. The additional investigation is carried out according to Subparagraph 3, Item 1, Article 17. The results of investigation should be submitted to the Ministry of National Defense and the examination and registration organization for reference.

All firearms and ammunition in Article 2 that were confiscated or purchased according to the regulations will be sent to the police organization of the holder's registered permanent residence in terms of the Firearms Management Act for Self-Defense of Servicemen.

The regulations put into practice since the date of promulgation.