As a 1,600 year old tower in northern Hebei province has been destroyed after catching fire from festive fireworks, an article in Yanzhao Evening News questions the safety of China's firework regulations.
The tower in question was part of the old entrance to the city named Changle Gate, which was last renovated in 2001 to the tune of over 4 million yuan, or 580 thousand US dollars.
The question of how best to use fireworks has been an ongoing debate. Urban areas were banned from setting off fireworks in the mid 1990s, but the restriction has been relaxed in recent years as people have been yearning for lost customs.
The reemergence of street fireworks has been accompanied by a number of new regulations to address safety concerns, which regulate the quality of fireworks sold, price, as well as the time to set off fireworks.
But the article slams the regulations as ineffective. The appointed fireworks stores, for instance, frequently raise prices higher than they should. And the regulations fail to address the problem of quality, seen through the production and sale of substandard fireworks.
When government restrictions fail to work, that's when tragedies happen, the article says. In addition to the incident of Changle Gate, numerous other fires and causalities have been reported during Spring Festival holidays. Air quality has declined, too.
The article says preservation of old customs comes with a high price. As the idea of low-carbon is embraced around the world, maybe China should consider banning fireworks in urban areas.
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