New Year Fireworks: Too Much of a Good Thing?
This post will no doubt spawn accusations of my having no holiday spirit and no sense of China’s cultural traditions, but so be it. Now that we’re well into the Spring Festival holiday and the fireworks have come down off their Sunday night peak, yet are still booming and banging sporadically at all hours (and scaring my cats), it’s fair to raise some questions.
Xinhua even ran a story today on the downsides of fireworks:
China’s New Year firework spree has not only left thousands of tonnes of scraps in Beijing but also driven up the city’s air pollution data to “hazardous” level until winds blew them away Tuesday morning.
The pollution issue is a minor one. By Monday morning, the smoke cleared away and the sky was a brilliant blue. Great weather again today, by the way. I think we can live with temporary smoke, particularly considering the usual state of air pollution in the city.
Two other issues, however, deserve more attention. The vast amount of litter generated by the fireworks is significant. I went for a walk around the neighborhood yesterday morning, and it was like strolling through a field of red flowers. Scraps of paper were everywhere, and there were lesser amounts of other fireworks-related detritus, such as cardboard and various kinds of packaging. For some reason, fireworks enthusiasts apparently do not feel obligated to clean up after themselves.
Now, I’m not saying that the expense of cleaning up all this trash is a big deal for the nation as a whole. The question is whether it’s necessary, or if there’s another way. I have to admit I felt really sorry for the old man with a push broom who was sweeping up the yard in front of my building yesterday. Every time he made progress, someone would set off another string of firecrackers, then walk away to leave the poor guy to his Sisyphean task.
In the grand scheme of things, I suppose none of this matters all that much. Folks enjoy explosions, so why not let them have their fun once a year? Fair enough.
For me, though, the trump card here is the fires, injuries and deaths related to fireworks. Difficult to ignore. Beijing has already debated this issue and settled on what Xinhua would call a compromise:
Chinese big cities including Beijing had instituted bans on fireworks, as it polluted the air and led to injuries and even deaths.
However, the Beijing authorities lifted the ban in 2005 under public wishes that fireworks burning could create more festive atmosphere. But the government restricted setting off fireworks within certain areas during a 16-day period around the Spring Festival to reduce accidents and the impact on citizens’ lives.
Not exactly the kind of compromise I’m looking for. Here’s the thing. If the goal is to allow people to enjoy fireworks and yet avoid fires, injuries and death, the solution is obvious. It’s also, coincidentally, the same conclusion reached by my hometown when I was growing up with respect to July 4th fireworks: municipal/local fireworks displays only.
As the CCTV building fire exemplified, your average guy is not an expert in handling explosives. Let the government, or public/private groups, handle these potentially dangerous toys, and allow the public to attend these displays and enjoy the spectacle. No fires, no injuries, no deaths, but plenty of bangs and booms and fun. Moreover, with fewer fireworks displays to soak up holiday expenditures, perhaps innovation and variety could be spurred on (I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but fireworks haven’t changed much in the past couple of decades).
What could be wrong with that?
Why mess with Darwin? If someone is so stupid they can’t light a wick without blowing off a body part, well, that’s what natural selection is all about. Of course, that would further contribute to the messiness of it all…
Always nice to hear from the Libertarians . . .
What could be wrong with that?
Simple answer. If the CCTV fiasco didn’t lead to any new legislation, nothing will. I have almost 24 hour/day fireworks around my house in Beijing and it never lets up until the end of Spring Festival. Once upon a time, the city government was going to ban fireworks inside the 5th Ring Road. That went nowhere because the fear of a public backlash. It’s all in the culture…don’t ya know?
I have a lot of faith in the government’s ability to sway public opinion. If you know what I mean.
Amen
Because the firework tradition during CNY has certain back story behind it; And it is about “setting off fireworks” and not about “watching fireworks” to chase away the monster called “nian”.
The CNY firework traditional is quite different from the 4th July independence day and therefore it is not comparable.
It is one tradition that as an Chinese I like to hand down to my kids, thank you very much.
I’m aware of the cultural antecedents here, but I’m willing to risk having evil spirits hanging around if it means fewer fires, injuries and deaths.
Some of this just comes down to nostalgia. I have fond memories of lighting fireworks with my father when I was a kid. After the government restricted that activity, however, we found other things to do. Not a big deal.
I tend to expect a war zone in urban areas during Chunjie, but what I would love to see stopped is the practice of setting off load blasts all day at remote retreats, like temples and mountain villages.
what I would love to see stopped is the practice of setting off load blasts all day outside my window, especially when i’m trying to sleep, such as at 5:00 in the morning.
But if you don’t light off fireworks near your house, what will scare away the evil spirits? I mean, really, you haven’t even considered that problem!
the fireworks was banned b4
Yes, several years ago. They didn’t try hard enough.
I’m a big fireworks buff, so China is heaven at times. But in most apartment complexes, the grounds staff have to spend a good week or so cleaning up all of the debris and sometimes even have to power-wash and scrub scorched pathways. I’m pretty sure they didn’t sign up for that, and they don’t get paid extra, either.
I do agree with SK’s remark about letting Darwinism fulfill its intended purpose. But as with all fun and games, there’s quite a bit of collateral damage, like last year when one of those humongous crew-served bottle rockets I lit off lost terminal guidance and flew into my neighbor’s kitchen window…
-Or the time I bought these really neat M-80′s in Wuhan, that turned out to have like 1/4 pound of flash powder. The first time I lit one off, windows rattled and car alarms went off for 5 blocks around, and I was bleeding from the nose and ears. Was pissed when I went to buy more, and learned that the seller had been shut down by the cops. But still, people were selling all of the makings for fireworks (powder, time fuse, propellant), just in case the customer was not satisfied with the finished product on sale. Now THAT is a recipe for disaster.
I would be in favor of a fireworks “curfew”, limiting demolitions to set times of the day.
I try to avoid anything that might make me bleed out of an orifice. Just as a general rule.
Where I am in Southern China (Nanchang) this year has been quite quiet on the fireworks front.
But going on previous years I agree there should be more restrictions put in place on ordinary members of the public for fireworks and some curfews on the hours when fireworks/firecrackers can be set off
My neighbor in Shanghai bought over 10k RMB of fireworks, and he is a lawyer