Ahead of Lunar New Year, Chinese Debate Fireworks Ban
2024-01-06
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1Chinese lawmakers recently entered a fierce online debate on whether fireworks should be used to celebrate the Lunar New year this February.
2They said a total ban on fireworks in the country credited with inventing the noisemakers would be hard to enforce.
3Lawmakers said air pollution prevention and fire safety laws have led to "differences in understanding" of the ban on fireworks.
4However, it was never a total ban.
5In 2017, official data showed 444 cities had banned fireworks.
6Since then, some of the cities have loosened the bans.
7They permit fireworks at certain times of the year and at special places.
8This month, however, many counties made announcements banning fireworks, restarting discussion on the ban.
9"We've the right to fireworks," wrote a user of Weibo, a popular Chinese online discussion service.
10Chinese folklore says the earliest fireworks were invented 2,000 years ago to drive away the "nian."
11The nian, the story goes, was a monster that hunted people and animals before the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival.
12Since then, fireworks came to be used to celebrate other events.
13This January, after three years of COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, some people ignored bans - and officials - and set off firecrackers.
14Some Chinese say the fireworks bans were necessary to protect the environment.
15An online opinion study by the official Beijing Youth Daily found that over 80 percent of people supported fireworks during Spring Festival.
16The festival is the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar.
17Some also said the ban was ironic after the United Nations recently named the Spring Festival an official holiday, a move supported by Chinese officials.
18"The Spring Festival belongs to the world, but China's is almost gone," wrote another Weibo user.
19Southern Hunan province is a worldwide supplier of fireworks.
20Its exports totaled $579 million from January to November, state media reported.
21That number is far greater than domestic sales.
22I'm Dan Novak.
1Chinese lawmakers recently entered a fierce online debate on whether fireworks should be used to celebrate the Lunar New year this February. They said a total ban on fireworks in the country credited with inventing the noisemakers would be hard to enforce. 2Lawmakers said air pollution prevention and fire safety laws have led to "differences in understanding" of the ban on fireworks. However, it was never a total ban. 3In 2017, official data showed 444 cities had banned fireworks. Since then, some of the cities have loosened the bans. They permit fireworks at certain times of the year and at special places. 4This month, however, many counties made announcements banning fireworks, restarting discussion on the ban. 5"We've the right to fireworks," wrote a user of Weibo, a popular Chinese online discussion service. 6Chinese folklore says the earliest fireworks were invented 2,000 years ago to drive away the "nian." The nian, the story goes, was a monster that hunted people and animals before the Lunar New Year, or Spring Festival. 7Since then, fireworks came to be used to celebrate other events. This January, after three years of COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, some people ignored bans - and officials - and set off firecrackers. 8Some Chinese say the fireworks bans were necessary to protect the environment. 9An online opinion study by the official Beijing Youth Daily found that over 80 percent of people supported fireworks during Spring Festival. The festival is the most important holiday on the Chinese calendar. 10Some also said the ban was ironic after the United Nations recently named the Spring Festival an official holiday, a move supported by Chinese officials. 11"The Spring Festival belongs to the world, but China's is almost gone," wrote another Weibo user. 12Southern Hunan province is a worldwide supplier of fireworks. Its exports totaled $579 million from January to November, state media reported. That number is far greater than domestic sales. 13I'm Dan Novak. 14Dan Novak adapted this Reuters report for VOA Learning English. 15___________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17county -n. the government for an area bigger than a city but smaller than a state or province which deals with local matters 18folklore -n. traditional customs, stories and beliefs 19calendar -n. a system for organizing days, weeks, months and years 20ironic - adj. something that is funny in a way because it seems to be the opposite of how something should be