Playing with fire at New Year leaves trail of ashes behind
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Beijing forbid the setting off of private fireworks within the Fifth Ring Road entirely from 1993 to 2005. New initiatives to restrict fireworks once more are quite possible.
Fireworks advocates say they're a Chinese tradition, and that the responsibility lies on the government to manage them properly. But the Beijing municipal government pays a high cost in order to protect people's entertainment traditions.
Beijing mustered 720,000 people in the city patrol on new year's eve, almost as many as were put together for the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
Because of the city's crowded population and rapid development, construction is everywhere in Beijing.
After nearly four months without snow or rain, the city was as dry as timber. The week-long barrage of fireworks was no different from hundreds of thousands of people playing with fire. The accidents and fires that resulted were inevitable.
It's been six years since the ban on fireworks was lifted in response to public demand. But now the chorus of voices calling for the ban to be restored is getting louder.
But government policy can't just blindly follow the public mood. They need to take the long term into account. Perhaps a compromise solution can be found.
Even if the city banned private fireworks again, it wouldn't mean saying goodbye to the new year displays.
In most countries, spectacular fireworks demonstrations are organized by local authorities in public spaces, well away from the crowds and run by trained professionals.
These involve far more elaborate and beautiful fireworks than private citizens can manage.
If Beijing did this, people could enjoy the festival atmosphere, save money, and the noise pollution and safety issues would disappear.
The author is an editor with Beijing-based Worker's Daily. forum@globaltimes.com.cn
