Illegal blades melted down in show of safety

Beijing police destroyed 16,000 illegal knives on Saturday to highlight security ahead of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) to be held later this week.

The mass of "controlled" knives is the result of seizures that have taken place since 2007.

Controlled knives refer to knives with blades longer than 15 cm and angles of less than 60 degrees, or blades over 22 cm and angles of more than 60 degrees, Guo Yilin, vice-head of the dangerous goods management department at the public security bureau, told METRO yesterday.