>Would have been smarter to empty the gun, take it apart, and dump the pieces in different trash cans that aren't under surveillance. Wether the trash on the plane or a toilet before customs check.
1. This is China, not North Korea. China isn’t salivating at the thought of detaining a lowly state senator. I don’t see the motivation for China to do a show of force on a minor government official.
2. The failure of this plan is way more risky and could actually trigger an international issue. What do you do when a janitor finds a disassembled gun in the trash and they determine it was left by a state senator? That is way more suspicious.
The arrest of Michael Spavor was in retaliation from the US detaining Meng Wanzhou over similarly flimsly charges. It's not something that was done at random or as a show of force. If a chinese national came to the US with a gun accidentally I wouldn't advise them to trash it in the bathroom because Meng Wanzhou was detained once.
>How could they possibly link it to a passanger?
The serial number. Unless the state senator is holding an unregistered gun I can't imagine it would be difficult to link it to him. And if is traveling with an unregistered gun, then he's already knowingly breaking the law; and he might as well break more laws.
Michael Spavor was arrest in retaliation for the arrest of the Huawei executive in Canada. And was promptly released when the Huawei executive was released.
This state senator actually committed a crime. A very serious crime in China. One that people spend significant lengths in prison for. What stops China from putting them in prison then using them as a pawn for US-China relations (which are particularly hot right now)?
The answer is nothing.
> The serial number. Unless the state senator is holding an unregistered gun
Guns aren't registered in the US. Serial numbers are recorded at sale, but there is no database.
And China certainly won't have access to serial numbers should they find it. You think the US will give that information to a country that is holding a member of the government in prison?
How would a legal gun from the US be linked to a crime in China? It's in different pieces that there is no chance a single person will find all of them and assemble the weapon?
1. This is China, not North Korea. China isn’t salivating at the thought of detaining a lowly state senator. I don’t see the motivation for China to do a show of force on a minor government official.
2. The failure of this plan is way more risky and could actually trigger an international issue. What do you do when a janitor finds a disassembled gun in the trash and they determine it was left by a state senator? That is way more suspicious.