I know this is an odd question but after hearing about the woman in Kunming who got her eyes stabbed during an abduction last week, I was wondering what kinds of defensive weapons are legal to have in China? I know guns are illegal unless you belong to a minority with hunting traditions, but what about mace, bats, knives, knuckledusters stuff like that? What can you legally have in your home and what can you legally carry around?

for your home I suggest you look to the standard meat cleaver found in all Chinese kitchens as your best legal and nasty defense option.

try getting those eletric battons at those security shops found in between nan ping jie and going to xiao xi men.

you need to take a right turn. i dont know if they are still selling it, im not saying those are truly legal but it helps to stun people

Yuan. I think I'd prefer a baseball bat to a cleaver as in incapacitate insted of murdering someone.

I know some foreigners who carry mace around. Legal? A small canister would probably be preferable to more lethal weapons.

Legal?
A cosh, but not a knife.

There is a thing called an Asp. It is like a telescopic baton, but metal. The police use them en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASP,_Inc. . Usefull if you take some aikido lessons in how to use it. You see these around Kunming in the bird market and elsewhere.

Electrical things like Tazer may well be illegal.

Mace may be illegal. However, any perfumed spray, especially those with alcohol, will do the same job is sprayed in the eyes. Then run like hell.

Avoid anything potentially lethal or capable of causing grievous harm to anybody, because you won't be willing to use it. If you don't use it, it can be taken from you and used against you.
You don't need to harm people, you just need to get them to stop attacking you for long enough for you to run away.

NEVER fight unless you are ready to kill or seriously injure your opponent. Unless you do so puts you at a serious disadvantage to an opponent with that mindset. AND do it to them as quickly as possible so as to give them fewer opportunities to do it to you.

ALL THAT SAID - - it is best to walk away if at all possible.

Cheers - - JJ

If I ever found myself asking such a question I'd be packing my bags. As it is I've never felt anything other than utterly secure in Kunming.

@JJ
JJ - between you and me - if the perpetrator is seriously injured - it just means they got lucky and survived.

Listen to JJ - voice of experience.

If you can't run away - you need to be violent, without hesitation, conscience, remorse, pity, or compassion. If you cannot be violent - expect imminent or near future retaliation. If you decide to defend yourself - you must be fast - speed is essential - and deadly - use full force and deadly force.

If you don't have this mentality - then by all means, try to run away (usually you'll be cornered though) - or try the PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE SOLUTION at the bottom of this comment. Weigh the costs of your actions (also called paranoia), then commit to your response - aka plan for the worst. If you become the victim - at worst you'll be a cadaver on a morgue slab. If you survive the attack, expect a protracted hospital stay, potential permanent disability, and serious mental issues - depression, fear, nightmares, paranoia, dementia, etc.

AGGRESSIVE SOLUTION
As for spray and run - it's wishful thinking but risky. If the situation calls for a spray in the face - it is only a temporary stun. IF you have the ability and the courage, spray to temporarily stun, then put your opponent down hard and semi-permanently to permanently - make sure they won't be getting up for the next 10-20 minutes so you can leisurely stroll away. And remember this - spraying the face means you have to practice - that means make sure you aim and spray in the right direction. Under duress - you may inadvertently spray yourself.

Why run when you can stroll.

That means do some serious and critical body damage - so even if they can get up again - their ability to harm you will have to wait until they leave the hospital - broken arm, broken leg, crushed hand, broken ankle, smashed face - whatever's convenient and strikes your fancy - but never hesitate.

If you have the time and you want to be legal about the whole thing (which is really troublesome), search the body for ID and drop it off at the local police station along with your report of attempted robbery, mugging, etc. They'll find the culprit at one of the local hospitals. But again, this will be really troublesome for you. Doing the right thing is always troublesome.

PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE SOLUTION
Barf all over yourself first and if you still have some spare gag response, aim the second stream at the aggressor - instead of moving away, move towards the aggressor so you can get a really good shot at their face and body.

They usually won't want to touch you because of the stench (bile, vomit, etc) and will actually back away. Vomit is particularly more effective in the face and eyes than any pepper spray or alcohol derivative.

This advice is usually given to potential rape victims. Vomit makes one particularly unattractive in both appearance and smell - should render most perps somewhat impotent - although rape is said to be a crime of violence. The shock of such an action should be sufficient to stun even the most hardened of criminals.

The additional benefit is vomiting doesn't require too much practice - most people can induce an excellent hurl with the traditional finger down the throat. If you have a handbag or backpack - hurl on that too.

That said - I'm a major fan of China's death penalty - swift justice - even given the potential for judicial error or other force majeur issues such as corruption.

INNOCUOUS LEGAL WEAPONS - MEDIUM TO LONG RANGE
A walking stick - if you know how to use it. There are martial arts training for walking stick combat. Just make sure the stick is made of a solid hardwood - not the crappy bamboo or hollow aluminum junk that's sold by street vendors. Ebony, walnut, maple (?) - dense hardwoods. To make sure it works - whack a local tree (big tree) with all your strength - if the stick buckles or breaks - better to know before you try to use it in combat.

INNOCUOUS LEGAL WEAPONS - SHORT RANGE
Your keys - these things are nastier than brass knuckles - hold the keys between your fingers - so they look like claws. Do NOT punch to the face - punch the eyes or the throat and do it fast, with strength, commitment, and without hesitation...and don't miss. There's also rape avoidance training on how to use simple house/car keys as personal defense weapons. You can practise key kungfu on your pillow or stuffed animal (or your shadow).

ENJOY...and be safe (which usually means a certain element of paranoia aka situational awareness).

Laotou,, I'm slightly worried on your behalf :) I would do everything to walk away if something happened on the street but I'm thinking more like encountering robbers or burglars at home, where you might not really have any options. It's not that I generally don't feel safe around here -apart from in traffic- but if someone would abduct a migrant worker for her 500 kuai, stab her eyes and hold her for ransom for 1 wan, I can't help wondering if it isn't a real posibility that these kinds of people would follow a foreigner home to see where he lives or try to get their hands on his loved ones. Yes, I am being slightly paranoid about this I know, but I have a wife now, and a baby on the way so I just can't help wondering what I'd do in that situation.

Now I can't imagine having a bat at home is against the law, but I am still not sure about carrying a small canister of mace around, which I feel would be ideal for fending off an attacker in a non-lethal way. Anyone?

@danmairen
The best defense if pro-active avoidance - situational awareness. If you think you're being followed or stalked, stop, turn around, and face the perp - get a real good luck at their face. Normal people will turn away or avoid your gaze. A bold thief will confront you (usually with a ganma) - this kind of behavior is most obvious around the train station - rife with pickpockets - but pickpockets are easy to spot - they stop when you stop, don't seem to have any particular destination - and almost always work in small groups. Most obviously - they tend to consistently crowd your personal space - especially when there's plenty of space to walk around. To test - if you suspect you're being followed, just stop, face the road so you can see them in your peripheral vision, don't move for a minute or so - if they stop - your a mark - turn and face them. Most pickpockets will avoid this kind of situation and look for another mark.

If the police are nearby (usually they're useless moronic imbecilic decorations) and you're feeling particularly cheeky, report the suspected perp as a potential pickpocket and point obviously at the suspected perp.

If you get a good look at their face - despite their confrontational attitude - they'll usually opt to drop you as a potential mark - because you can positively ID them and the crime of convenience suddenly became significantly less convenient.

I also advocate the death penalty or severing of a limb for pickpockets - but that'll never fly - even in China. There are some things I do admire about shariah justice.