From Chinese Press

Don't ban fireworks

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-02-09 08:11

There were about 6,000 fires across the country caused by fireworks on the eve of this year's Spring Festival, which has prompted a fierce debate in the media about whether fireworks should be banned or not. However, instead of simply banning fireworks, many other measures can be introduced to reduce the fire risk from fireworks, says an article in Beijing News. Excerpt:

Many media outlets have been commenting on the losses caused by fireworks during the lunar new year holiday and some have even called on the government to ban fireworks. However, such a ban won't be useful, since setting off fireworks at times of celebration has a long tradition in China.

In the mid-1990s, many cities banned fireworks, but such bans had to be nullified later, which shows just how strong the tradition is. The economic benefits and happiness people gain from fireworks offsets the losses caused by fires.

As urbanization is accelerating in China, the key problem is that more measures need to be taken to control fire risks in areas with many high buildings.

For example, the fireworks and firecracker associations, or the supervisory authorities, could adjust the standards to decrease the amount of powder used in fireworks and the government could levy firework taxes and use the money to set up a fund to compensate the victims for their physical injuries or property loss.

(China Daily 02/09/2011 page9)