China: Fireworks ban in some cities lifted prior to Lunar New Year

China: Following the widespread protests, the officials in various Chinese cities have lifted the bans imposed on fireworks prior to the Lunar New Year on January 22. At the same time, some authorities have doubled down on the ban and penalized the locals involved in setting off fireworks, as Chinese media reported.

The Dongying and Binzhou governments have announced that the locals are allowed to use fireworks to welcome the Lunar new year. The officials in Beijing and the northeastern port city of Dalian have also allowed fireworks but for limited hours, as reported by ‘The Paper.’

However, in many other places have announced that the original fireworks ban will continue to remain in effect. The reports from The Paper added that “In the past few days, a lot of cities have announced cases of citizens being punished for illegally setting off fireworks as a warning,”. 

Additionally, penalties are being handed out to the locals by police in Wenzhou city of the eastern Zhejiang province, Sihong city in eastern Jiangsu and in Jinzhou city in the northwestern province of Liaoning.

Further, the authorities in the northern province of Hebei will continue with the ban on fireworks and rule out the fake news that the fireworks and firecrackers can lead to disinfection of the air and kill the COVID-19 virus. 

A New York-based political commentator Qin Peng said that the massive contravention of the fireworks ban on the New Year could be attributed to the three years of the gruelling zero-COVID policy of the Jinping government. It was the anger and pain of the residents that they had stored up for three years, which finally erupted out, as per Qin.

In fact, the authorties are very well aware of their actions that provoked the rage of the citizens, which included not just the minorities, but from all of the China cities and villages, added Qin. The Ruling Chinese Communist Party could even be superstitiously reluctant to explosives that have been made to scare away evil spirits. 

They say that it’s for reasons of safety or cleanliness, but these firecrackers have another implication, which is exorcizing the evil spirits, and the party knows itself to be evil,” said Qin.

“The inner urge to set off fireworks and firecrackers during the festive season is really strong amongst the general public of China, and their appeals to the government continue to increase at the online platforms to allow them to set off the fireworks and firecrackers during the Lunar New Year” read Qin’s statement.