To many people firecrackers bring forth joy during the Spring Festival, and nightmare to some
others.
"Loud noises from firecrackers would incur heart attack of the
elderly and scare the children," said Zhao Zhongxiang, a member of
the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political
Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
In addition, some dogs were shocked to death and birds were
forced to quieter places, said the renowned TV host who earned his
fame by hosting the TV program "animal world."
Firecrackers tend to be made with more powerful powder, he said,
noting that smaller firecrackers help create a festive atmosphere
while bigger ones are "horrible."
Zhao's view was shared by another political advisor Zhu
Yinghuang.
"Can we put some limits to the explosive power of firecrackers
from production and more restraints on the time and place setting
off firecrackers?" asked Zhu, former editor-in-chief of the English
newspaper China Daily.
Firecrackers, traditionally believed to scare away demons and
bring forth good fortune, were banned by the Beijing authorities in
1994 due to safety and environmental concerns, but the ban was
lifted partially in 2006 only during the Spring Festival
period.
More than 380,000 boxes of firecrackers had been sold in more
than 2,000 outlets in the capital while at least 560 million
substandard firecrackers were confiscated before the New Year's
eve, which fell on Feb. 17 this year.
Earlier report said that 715 people were injured and one was
killed by firecrackers during the Chinese Lunar New Year
celebrations in Beijing, according to the municipal health
authorities.
(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2007)