This is what Chinese rulers hate most. Disgruntled people who are armed. And their number can grow. They give these rules willies, reminding them of large scale rebellion in previous ages, like Boxers and Tai-Ping rebellion.
Until recently, the worst these folks did against government was big demonstrations, sometimes violent, for closing down factories or offical corruption or high taxation. But they did not use guns. For now, they are turning against local rivals or enemies by using guns. But how long do they stay that way before they set their sight to the "root" cause, the regime itself. This usually happens when these locals consolidate themselves in one region. So the regime has to hit before they consolidate. Something to keep an eye on in a next few years.
Its not that the CCP is allowing the people to think for themselves its just that oppression can only last for so long before the people get wise and start to stand up for themselves. The reason guns are banned in China is not to protect the people from hurting themselves, its to keep them from making a stand against the government.