Tag: Toys

A Game Designer in Beijing Bought Toy Guns. China Imprisoned Him.

Chin@Strategy

China’s strong gun controls mean that fatal shootings are rare, and many citizens support the laws to keep it that way. But there has been a growing debate over the legal definition of a firearm. Experts say China’s regulations — which ban buying, selling or owning weapons above a very low threshold of force — are vague and hard for laypeople, even judges, to understand. The result, critics say, is that unsuspecting buyers of compressed-air and spring-powered toys are turned into criminals. China’s gun control law of 1996 states that…

China, shipping and Brexit: why UK may face Christmas toy shortage

Chin@Strategy

At a toy factory in south-east China, boxes of plastic dart guns are stacked across the floor. Sometimes, so many packages pile up that they stretch into the production area, slowing the work of making more toys. What to do with all the blaster guns, which have been sold to retailers in the UK but cannot find room on ships to get them there, is a problem for Nick Mowbray, the co-founder of Zuru Toys. The company expects to generate about NZ$1.1bn (£580m) in revenue this year thanks to surging…