Beijing seeking a total ban on fireworks

Beijing is discussing amending its fireworks management regulations to ban them throughout the year in light of the city’s heavy air pollution and casualties caused during festivals.

A draft amendment to the capital’s fireworks safety and management regulations has been delivered to the city’s legislature for deliberation.

According to the draft, setting off fireworks will be banned within the Fifth Ring Road.

This means residents in the city proper will not be allowed to use fireworks on Lunar New Year, China’s most important festival.

According to an official with the city’s legal affairs office, dozens of people were injured or killed in firework-triggered accidents during the Lunar New Year holiday between 2015 and 2017.

The number of heavy air pollution days during the seven-day festival reached two to four days each year during the past five years, said the official. The office solicited public opinion about the draft amendment, with 83.1 percent of participants supporting the ban.

Lawmakers also advised reducing the number of sales booths and cutting off channels for the illegal sale of fireworks.

Currently, the setting off of fireworks within Beijing’s Fifth Ring Road is allowed only at Lunar New Year and the Lantern Festival.